THE economic effects of the Zika virus could be far-reaching for Caribbean government budgets and tourism, but more research is needed, a university economics professor said yesterday.
Professor Winston Moore told a news conference hosted by the University of the West Indies regional task force on Zika that it was too early to say what impact the spread of the virus has had so far.
“Zika poses a very significant threat because there really is not a lot of good research on the issue and that is why we need this regional task force,” Moore said.
The economist noted that there had been a fear from the outset that Zika was going to have a negative impact on travel due to advisories for women of childbearing age from source markets such as the United States, because of reports from Brazil linking the virus to a serious birth defect.
Please read the full story in today’s Weekend Nation, or in the eNATION edition.
