The economic cost of infection Print
Written by Lloyds of London - the insurance market   
Friday, 23 April 2010 10:43
When a major infectious disease strikes, the cost to the world’s economy can be huge.




Such diseases can originate from a number of sources, and costs can quickly spiral.

Take the most common form of food poisoning – the bacterium Campylobacter – for example. It is estimated to cost the UK economy around £500m a year, while the cost of all food poisoning cases is thought to exceed £1.5 billion a year. In the US, the Food and Drug Administration estimates the cost of food poisoning exceeds $350 billion annually.

Other infectious diseases also drive up costs. The NHS, for example, estimates infections contracted by patients in UK hospitals cost it around £1 billion a year. And when concern about swine flu was at its peak, the International Monetary Fund estimated a pandemic would likely cost $3 trillion – and cause a 5% drop in global GDP.

National economies


Ultimately, it is national economies that pay the bill when infectious disease strikes. The outbreak of cholera in Peru in 1991 resulted in the loss of US$500m in fish and fishery exports that year. Costs can include minor and major healthcare costs, direct personal costs, loss of earnings, loss of productivity, lost business opportunities, investigations, incapacity and death.

Of course, pandemics can also impact heavily on insurers, with costs coming from claims as wide-ranging as clinical negligence claims; personal injury claims where tour operators, airlines, cruise ship operators, hotels or other holiday providers are responsible for food poisoning, for example; and general liability claims against food manufacturers distributing contaminated products.

With this in mind, prevention is often better than cure and the latest tool in the battle to prevent the spread of infectious disease is antimicrobial technology.

Risk reduction


The NHS is a good example. It spends a considerable amount of money on preventing infection. However, infection-control practices and products are often moved in and out of other hygiene-sensitive environments, so the challenge is one of risk reduction.

Antimicrobial technology can be used to interrupt the flow of cross-contamination. It takes antimicrobial agents - which work to kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria - and adds them to hygiene-sensitive objects and utensils.

For example, coating a catheter with antimicrobial silver has been shown to significantly reduce urinary tract infections in patients because of the silver’s ability to restrict the build up of bacteria.

It’s being used outside of hospitals too. Antimicrobial crates for transporting poultry from farms are helping reduce the transmission of microorganisms between flocks.

Commercial opportunities


Business has been quick to appreciate the commercial opportunities antimicrobial products can offer since its initial use in clinical settings - it is now also being applied to working environments to reduce the risk of disease spreading.

To the microbiologist, this technology is a practical way to reduce risks of transmission of infectious disease. For business and the insurance community, it may also be a valuable tool for risk mitigation.
Last Updated ( Friday, 23 April 2010 10:47 )
 
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