Infographic – U.S. Rated Best in Pandemic Prep

Click on image for full-size view (Statista)

2 Nov. 2019. One area where science, business, and government overlap is the public health response to pandemics, widespread outbreaks of a disease, often infectious diseases. A new report on global health security says no country in the world is fully prepared to handle pandemics or epidemics, with data from the report displayed in this weekend’s infographic.

The Global Health Security Index rates each country’s preparations on a scale of 0 to 100 points, with the top 10 countries shown in the chart prepared by our friends at Statista. It should come as no surprise that nearly all 10 of the top-ranked nations are higher-income countries, with the U.S. rated first, scoring 83.5 out of 100. The U.K., Netherlands, Australia, and Canada occupy the next four spots, scoring between 75 and 80 on the scale.

As we’ve reported on Science & Enterprise, an office in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, called the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority, or BARDA, is responsible for securing the country against chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear threats. BARDA’s work includes protecting against pandemics, as well as antibiotic resistance. Some of our recent stories about BARDA are listed below.

More from Science & Enterprise:

• Carb-X Funds Drug-Resistant Bacterial Vaccine
• Trial Shows Two Drugs Can Treat Ebola Virus
• Smart Watch in Development for Respiratory Diseases

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