Human and Economic Cost of Flu Pandemic
Jason Gale and Kristen Hallam of Bloomberg report on news from the First International Conference on Avian Influenza in Humans, and it ain’t pretty.
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A flu outbreak killing 70 million people worldwide may cause global eeconomic losses of as much as $2 trillion, a World Bank official said.
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The World Bank study assumes 20 percent declines in demand for tourism, transportation and other key services, which reduce global GDP by about 2 percent. The economic losses could range from $1.25 trillion to $2 trillion, according to the report.
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The Bank’s scenario of a severe pandemic assumes about 35 percent of people worldwide would be infected. Of those, 3 percent, or about 70 million people, may die.