IDSA’s “Science Speaks”: Citing overlooked social, economic, health impacts, study estimates West Africa Ebola outbreak costs at more than $53 billion
Antigone Barton, senior editor and writer at “Science Speaks,” discusses a study published in the Journal of Infectious Diseases examining the economic and social burden of the 2014 Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Barton writes, “The highest costs, [the study authors] write, were paid and continue to be paid by the three most affected countries. The largest single factor of the costs — adding up to an estimated $18 billion — are non-Ebola deaths — those caused by the impacts of the outbreak, but not by the virus itself” (10/16).