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Infectious diseases and associated deaths have reduced, but they remain a significant threat throughout the world. Infectious diseases outbreaks and the fear and panic that accompany them present various economic risks.

First, there are costs to the health system, both public and private, of medical treatment of the infected and of outbreak control. Concern over the spread of a relatively contained outbreak can lead to decreased trade. Travel and tourism to regions affected by outbreaks are also likely to decline. Some

long-running outbreaks, such as HIV, prevent foreign direct investment. The economic risks are large. It is estimated that the expected yearly cost of infectious diseases is at roughly$500 billion. Even when the health impact of an outbreak is relatively limited, its economic consequences can quickly become

expanded. Liberia, for example, saw GDP growth decline 8 percentages from 2013 to 2014 during the Ebola outbreak in Africa.

The risk is complex, but policymakers have tools in response.

Investing in improved health care, supply of clean water, and better health systems can reduce the frequency of human contact with viruses. Investment in reliable disease monitoring in both human and animal populations is also critical. Within formal global watch systems, instead of discouraging reporting possible outbreaks, it may be beneficial to develop incentives for reporting suspected cases, as countries may reasonably fear the effects of such reporting on trade, tourism, and other economic outcomes. Informal monitoring systems, social media for example, which collect

information from official reports, media reports, online discussions, and eyewitness observations, can also help national health systems and international responders get ahead of the outbreak news during the early stages. Cooperations for monitoring infectious diseases readiness at the national level

provide information national governments can use to react timely to their outbreaks.

There is a significant market failure when it comes to vaccines(疫苗） against individual low-probability viruses that collectively are likely to cause panic. Given the low probability that any single vaccine of this type will be needed, high Research and Development(R&. D)costs, and delayed returns,

medical companies hesitate to invest in their development. However, responsible international corporations such as CFPI can overcome this market failure. Its goals include advancing candidate vaccines against specific low-probability, high-severity viruses through proof of concept to enable rapid clinical testing in the event of outbreaks. It also aims to fund development of institutional and technical platforms to speed R&D in response to outbreaks for which there are no vaccines.

Undoubtedly, humans and infectious viruses will coexist. However, we can take effective measures to manage the risk of the diseases. Joint action now at the local, national, and multinational levels can go a long way toward protecting our collective well-being in the future.