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Bird-Flu Pandemic will be a Huge Financial Drain, says World Bank

by Medindia Content Team on Sep 18 2006 11:25 AM

Singapore – An earlier estimation of eight hundred billion dollars by The World Bank as possible economic fallout of a grave bird-flu pandemic, has gone in for further reckoning. A threadbare financial analysis has revealed that costs could be up to two trillion U.S dollars, as revealed by the World Bank during the annual IMF-World Bank meeting.

Speaking to reporters at the meeting, James Adams, vice president for East Asia and the Pacific, also leading the bank's avian flu task force exclaimed the enormity of impact in the event of an outbreak, with the potential to consume a whopping 3 percent of the world's gross economic product. The threat is still looming large, which necessitated the fine-tuning of financial estimates, should the virus mutate and reach humans.

According to James Adams, anti-bird flu programs need to be spruced up to push health and veterinarian services, while also improving public education. The World Bank has already enabled 11 countries with adequate funds totaling to one hundred fifty million dollars to keep a check on the disease.



Source-Medindia
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