Publication

Long shadow of fear in an epidemic: fearonomic effects of Ebola on the private sector in Nigeria

Authored by:

Bali S, Stewart KA, Pate MA, et al.

Full Citation:

Bali S, Stewart KA, Pate MA, et al. 2016. Long shadow of fear in an epidemic: fearonomic effects of Ebola on the private sector in Nigeria. BMJ Global Health. 1.

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Additional key concepts from this publication:

Disease outbreaks significantly impact a country’s economy due to productivity losses and impact on the tourism, import and transportation industries.

Key Evidence: During the 2014-2016 Ebola epidemic in 3 West African countries, fear of the disease in neighboring Nigeria and misperceptions on how disease spreads negatively affected many sectors of the economy – retail, hospitality, airline industries, and certain agricultural sectors.

Vaccines can alleviate the disruptions to health systems and health services caused by disease outbreaks.

Key Evidence: Fear of Ebola during the 2014-2016 epidemic in 3 West African countries had a major impact on the health sector in neighboring Nigeria, where hospitals reported sharp decreases in patient volume resulting in major financial losses. Some hospitals also turned away febrile patients to prevent being associated with Ebola while staff in other hospitals abandoned their posts.