Effect of severe acute respiratory syndrome on the economy of Zhongshan City.

Objective To analyze the effect of SARS on the economy of Zhongshan city.Method Epidemiology of the SARS and the trends of the economy of Zhongshan city were analyzed.Results The economy was affected by SARS:(1)The cost of living was increased especially for the health care products. The total cost for the treatment of SARS cases was $776 800, with an average of $27 700 per case.(2)The health care expenditure was increased. The prevention and cure fund for SARS of the whole city was $24 400 000. (3)The social economy was stagnant, especially the tourist industry. The income from the tourist industry of the whole year was $4 917 000 000, down 11 20%. It was dropped serious from March to July, with a lost of $126 500 000.(4)It threatened the public consuming mentality and caused a decrease in the consumption capability.From March to April, there was a lost of $23 000 000 in the net profit of the restaurant industry. (5)The social economy showed an unstable trend and a sharp decrease in the growth rate of tourist industry, overseas capital investment and the corporation prosperity index. Conclusions The impact of SARS on the economy was great and could lead to the unsteady of society and threatened the basic social economic activities.The government should pay more effort to prevent and control the epidemic diseases such as SARS.