Social, Economic, and Juridical Aspects of Virus Diseases

Abstract

Viruses that cause diseases in man, animals and plants are of great international concern. Because of their tendency to spread rapidly, viruses that harm livestock or plants could threaten food resources, and major efforts must be made to prevent large-scale damage. Laboratory facilities are required for speedy detection and identification of disease-causing viruses as well as systems to prevent spread of new viruses across state borders. Surveillance systems have been developed for early detection of viruses, and vaccine factories must be able to produce vaccines in time. The economic effect can be calculated in terms of working days lost due to viral infections, the cost of hospitalization and medical care, the cost of vaccine production and its administration to the public, the cost of livestock losses, the cost of purchasing meat from other sources to replace the loss, the cost of plant products damaged by virus diseases, and so on.