The Impacts on Health, Society, and Economy of SARS and H7N9 Outbreaks in China: A Case Comparison Study

Table 1

Impact on health, society, and economy of SARS and H7N9 in China.

Categories	SARS	H7N9
Health effects	(i) In 2003 in China: 5327 cases, 349 deaths; mortality rate 6.6%; (ii) By 11 July 2003, the virus had spread to 29 countries and regions, with a cumulative number of confirmed cases of 8096 people, 774 people deaths and an average death rate of 9.6%.	(i) In 2013 in China: 135 cases, 45 deaths; mortality rate 33.6%; (ii) By December 3, 2013, a total of 148 cases of H7N9 avian influenza were confirmed on the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong area, where 48 died, with a case fatality rate of 32.43%
Social impacts	Panic, criticized; (i) Information was “doctored” and delayed.; (ii) Rumors and social chaos; (iii) Food, salt and Banlangen (Radix Isatidis) were sold out; (iv) Flights were cancelled; (v) Schools were closed; (vi) large mass-gathering events cancelled	Social stability, praised; (i) Reliable information, promptly released; (ii) No social chaos; (iii) The management of the problem satisfied both the Chinese and international community.
Economic impacts	(i) The global macroeconomic impact of SARS was estimated at USD 30–100 billion or around USD 3–10 million per case; (ii) Caused losses of USD 12.3-28.4 billion and an estimated decrease of 1% in GDP in China	(i) China’s poultry industry suffered a loss of more than 40 billion RMB; (ii) There was little economic impact in the global community