Infectious Disease

Infectious diseases – most of which are preventable – disrupt the lives of millions of Americans every year and have a significant financial impact. COVID-19 is the latest and starkest example. The pandemic caused the deaths of over 1 million Americans and unprecedented disruption in people’s lives from job loss to social isolation and mental distress, to learning loss in children. Additional examples of infectious disease outbreaks include the 2014 Ebola outbreak, the 2015 and 2016 Zika outbreak, and the 2022 Mpox outbreak. Influenza, antibiotic resistant super bugs and food borne illness are additional concerns. Despite these serious and sometimes deadly impacts, investments in infectious disease prevention and control ebb and flow in response to outbreaks.