Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/21/flu-pandemic-recession_n_2519164.html
Flu Pandemic Could Trigger A 'Major Global Recession'
Reuters | Posted: 01/21/2013 6:59 am EST | Updated: 01/21/2013 0:24 am EST
By Sharon Begley
Jan 21 (Reuters) - A high body count is not the only meaningful number attached to a pandemic. The potential cost of a global outbreak of the flu or some other highly contagious disease, however ghoulish to calculate, is essential for government officials and business leaders to know. Only by putting a price tag on such an occurrence can they hope to establish what containing it is worth.
The financial damage by itself can be devastating. The expense of major epidemics is evident every time a health agency totes up the cost of treating infected people - the outlays for drugs, doctors' visits, and hospitalizations. But that spending is only the most obvious economic impact of an outbreak...
Flu Pandemic Could Trigger A 'Major Global Recession'
Reuters | Posted: 01/21/2013 6:59 am EST | Updated: 01/21/2013 0:24 am EST
By Sharon Begley
Jan 21 (Reuters) - A high body count is not the only meaningful number attached to a pandemic. The potential cost of a global outbreak of the flu or some other highly contagious disease, however ghoulish to calculate, is essential for government officials and business leaders to know. Only by putting a price tag on such an occurrence can they hope to establish what containing it is worth.
The financial damage by itself can be devastating. The expense of major epidemics is evident every time a health agency totes up the cost of treating infected people - the outlays for drugs, doctors' visits, and hospitalizations. But that spending is only the most obvious economic impact of an outbreak...