Is swine flu the last straw that will break the camel's back (world economy) already reeling under the effects of global recession? This is a question worth analyzing as it proves which countries are resilient enough to face the economic slow down and the swine flu menace.
While some countries might adapt to the situation well some others could be badly hit as a lot of funds and resources which could otherwise be used for putting the economy back on track will be spent on fighting the virus.
Health expenditure across continents has risen significantly and developing as well as developed nations which were slowly turning the corner had to put certain key expenditures on the back burner to address this heath issue.
What has the virus got to do with the economy? Which industries are affected due to its growth? Is it leading to job loss? Is it crippling the economy? Analysts have always found a relationship between good healthy people and a robust economy.
Healthy countries tend to grow faster as productive time is not lost due to sickness.
Swine flu with its ability to affect millions of people eats away productivity as more and more people report sick for work.
This starts a chain of reactions which though not directly connected has the ability to lead the economy into a spin.
There have been a lot of travel advisories issued by various countries to avoid traveling to places where the virus has left many affected.
Most countries have a screening system in place at airports and stations where people traveling constantly are checked.
People who are found sick are given the appropriate treatment and quarantined for sometime till they recover.
Economies which are dependent on tourism are the worst affected.
Tourists across the world have changed their travel plans and most of them have also canceled it totally.
There are a lot of industries which are connected to tourism ranging from airlines, hotel industry, food joints and food industry.
Airlines and hotel industry which were already reeling under the impact of recession are the worst hit industries.
They have accumulated huge losses and many are on the brink of closure.
Many small industries which are closely associated with these are also invariably affected by the swine flu effect.
All this has resulted in huge loss of revenue to the respective governments and it has also led to huge job losses.
This has also led to the social expenditure of the countries increasing as they have to support people out of jobs.
What swine flu has done is to add to the worries of the global economy and the recovery which was supposed to happen within six months could probably take a year now.
Health is wealth and a healthy economy which is not bound down by swine flu will prosper the fastest.
Countries which spend money on health issues and are able to control the spread of swine flu will stand a better chance to end their recession.