Is the U.S. Export Economy at Risk from Global Infectious Disease Outbreaks?

In addition to tragic loss of life, the next global infectious disease outbreak could harm the U.S. export economy and threaten U.S. jobs—even if the disease never reaches our shores. Two Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) articles published in Health Security analyze the risks and show potential losses to the American export economy from an overseas outbreak.

The two articles underscore the importance of the President’s request for $59 million in support of the Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) in Fiscal Year 2019.

“The President’s Budget request of $59 million for Fiscal Year 2019 for GHSA demonstrates the Administration’s commitment to global health security and provides an important bridge to the extension of the GHSA announced in October 2017 in Uganda,” said Anne Schuchat, M.D., acting Director of CDC. “This new funding continues the U.S. commitment to this multi-national effort and supplements U.S. Government multisector support for this initiative.

Take Action

Read the article Relevance of Global Health Security to the U.S. Export Economy about the potential disruption to the U.S. export economy if an infectious disease outbreak were to take hold in CDC’s global health security priority countries.

Read the article Impact of Hypothetical Infectious Disease Outbreak on U.S. Exports and Export-Based Jobs, which examines what could happen to the U.S. economy if an epidemic were to strike a key region, such as Southeast Asia. The article demonstrates how an epidemic spanning nine countries in Asia could cost the U.S. over $40 billion in export revenues and put more than 1 million U.S. jobs at risk.

Read "How killer microbes endanger lives and jobs," published March 7, 2018 and co-authored by CDC Center for Global Health Director Dr. Rebecca Martin.

Share on TwitterA global infectious disease outbreak can have a catastrophic impact on key aspects of the U.S. economy and the public’s health. A hypothetical outbreak model explains how. http://bit.ly/2FqbG8L

Share on FacebookCould a global disease outbreak put America’s economy in jeopardy and threaten the public’s health? An outbreak scenario in Health Security provides details on this threat. http://bit.ly/2FqbG8L

Share on InstagramPandemics can lead to loss of life and reduced economic activity and. Find the link in our profile to read more about the potential impact on U.S. exports and export-related jobs.

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Press Release and Social Media ToolkitRead the CDC press release and find shareable resources in our social media toolkit.

Print and Share Fact SheetsDownload and print fact sheets highlighting the impact of an outbreak: Protecting U.S. Exports and Jobs Through Health Security and America’s Economy in Jeopardy: The Threat from Global Outbreaks.

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