Social Development and Public Governance > Agriculture and Rural Development
Potential Economic Impact of Avian Influenza on the Latin American and Caribbean Poultry Sector
By César Falconi, Alejandro Nin Pratt (04/07, RUR-113, En, Es)
The Asian experience with avian influenza shows that national preparedness and investment for effective control and eradication of this infection can yield very considerable economic and social benefits. Latin America and the Caribbean, as yet untouched by the recent outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), have the chance to profit from lessons learned in Asia on how to prevent and manage this disease. Referencing the pathogens impact on selected East and Southeast Asian economies, this paper offers an economic analysis of the potential impact of avian influenza on the Latin American and Caribbean poultry sector and of the potential for chain reactions across the region.
The study concludes that investing in the short term to bolster Latin American animal health systems would yield sizable economic benefits for the region. According to the findings of the various scenarios developed, in-time investment in animal health systems for HPAI prevention and preparedness is a sound idea, which could avoid the region at least US$1.2 billion in poultry sector losses and in the process reduce the likelihood of a human pandemic.
Last updated: 05/21/07
