Cost to Irish economy from bird flu outbreak: €2 billion
Experts say that over a 15-week bird flu pandemic in Ireland, there would be a hospitalization rate of between 0.55 percent and 3.70 percent of the population, and among those hospitalized, a fatality rate of between 0.37 percent and 2.50 percent
When Irish eyes are not smiling: The Irish economy faces a €2 billion productivity loss if the country is hit by a bird flu pandemic, a study reveals. On Tuesday, British Airways chief executive Willie Walsh urged Irish businesses to prepare themselves for a bird flu pandemic. “The threat of a flu pandemic is very real, so it is vital that businesses put the necessary controls in place now through proper continuity planning,” he said. “British Airways has taken this threat seriously by creating a business continuity plan for pandemic influenza, and I would recommend that Irish businesses do the same,” he added. The Irish Examiner’s Conor Keane writes that Walsh was the keynote speaker at a breakfast briefing entitled “The Economic Impact of an Influenza Pandemic — Is Your Business Prepared?” which was hosted in Dublin. An economic impact assessment, commissioned by Roche Products (Ireland), to be published in the coming weeks, estimates the cost of productivity loss to employers due to the effects of pandemic influenza on the working population. This appraisal indicates a potential loss to the economy of €2 billion during a severe influenza pandemic.
Dr. Mary Horgan, consultant in infectious diseases at Cork University Hospital, updated the conference attendees on the current status of influenza and the need to stockpile antivirals. “The World Health Organization has been monitoring the H5N1 strain of influenza [bird flu] for a number of years. This virus already has the ability to transfer from birds to humans, and we feel that it is only a matter of time before it or a variant can be transmitted easily from human-to-human,” she said. Economist David McWilliams, who chaired the event, said he was shocked to hear that a bird flu pandemic in Ireland could be so severe, with the potential to cause such losses among employers. “It doesn’t take an economist to tell you that such a loss would have a major impact on business and the Irish economy,” he added.
The National Pandemic Influenza Plan and Advice for Pandemic Influenza published in January 2007 estimates that over a 15-week pandemic there would be a hospitalization rate of between 0.55 percent and 3.70 percent and a case fatality rate of between 0.37 percent and 2.50 percent.
