Pandemics and Financial Assets

Clinical microbiology laboratories and COVID-19: the calm before the storm.

Convocatoria ordinariaResumen: La gripe de 1918, conocida como "gripe española", provocó más de 50 millones de defunciones en todo el mundo, especialmente en Europa, convirtiéndose en la tercera pandemia más mortífera de la historia.España fue uno de los países más afectados con 8 millones de contagiados y hasta 300.000 fallecimientos, y sus territorios de ultramar no fueron una excepción.Entre ellos las Islas Canarias que, en menor medida, también se vieron afectadas por la gripe, fundamentalmente como consecuencia de la llegada de buques con pasajeros infectados.Gran Canaria experimentó un gran número de contagios y fallecimientos con respecto a otras islas, sobre todo por su puerto marítimo, recibidor constante de vapores comerciales y trasatlánticos de turistas y emigrantes.En este trabajo se analiza tanto la llegada de la epidemia gripal a Gran Canaria a finales de 1918 como su propagación e impacto hasta mayo de 1920, poniendo el foco de estudio en la ciudad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria y en el pueblo de la Vega de San Mateo, situado en el interior de la isla.A partir de la información recopilada en documentos públicos archivados y periódicos insulares de la época, además de los datos recogidos en registros parroquiales de defunción, se examina la mortalidad por gripe en ambas poblaciones con el objeto de esclarecer, mediante estadísticas, su incidencia en el contexto urbano y rural, teniendo también en cuenta el resto de patologías que afectaban a la sociedad grancanaria en la segunda década del siglo XX.Para ello, se realiza una breve presentación del contexto de la isla a comienzos del siglo pasado, particularmente de las poblaciones mencionadas y, al mismo tiempo, se exponen las distintas medidas sociopolíticas y sanitarias que se tomaron desde el gobierno insular para paliar la pandemia.Por último, se establecen similitudes entre la pandemia de "gripe española" y la de COVID-19 en las islas, en relación a su incidencia, gestión, mortalidad y consecuencias.

Hepatitis B is a significant global health issue where the 296 million people estimated to live with the infection risk liver disease or cancer without clinical intervention. The World Health Organization has committed to eliminating viral hepatitis as a public health threat by 2030, with future curative hepatitis B interventions potentially revolutionizing public health responses to hepatitis B, and being essential for viral hepatitis elimination. Understanding the social and public health implications of any cure is imperative for its successful implementation. This exploratory research, using semi-structured qualitative interviews with a broad range of professional stakeholders identifies the public health elements needed to ensure that a hepatitis B cure can be accessed by all people with hepatitis B. Issues highlighted by the experience of hepatitis C cure access include preparatory work to reorientate policy settings, develop resourcing options, and the appropriateness of health service delivery models. While the form and complexity of curative hepatitis B interventions are to be determined, addressing current disparities in cascade of care figures is imperative with implementation models needing to respond to the cultural contexts, social implications, and health needs of people with hepatitis B, with cure endpoints and discourse being contested.

COVID-19 hit the world a century after the Spanish flu pandemic (1918–1920). Despite advancements in epidemiology and public health science, the origin of Spanish flu is unknown. Naturally, the origin, growth and character of the COVID-19 virus are a mystery. The COVID-19 pandemic has rattled the health, socio-economic and political frameworks of human society. The COVID-19 pandemic popularized the words like lockdown, comorbidity and oxygen saturation even among the semi-literate section of society. Against a number of gloomy experiences and sad events, COVID-19 has opened up a new horizon of thought, offered several opportunities and a spectrum of activities even for the small state of Tripura. The fact that the novel coronavirus disrupted day-to-day lives provided an opportunity to reflect on issues and to reconsider what we do, how we do it and why we do it. Challenging times offer a great opportunity for social bonding and other ways of connecting, to restrain the high-speed life and spend quality time. Along with the community togetherness, there were instances of stigma too.

On privilege and fragility.

<p>The impact of a dangerous pandemic to human life is not a new chapter in human history. However, the silent enemy (Covid-19) pandemic crept from Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, at an exponential rate that it shifted the rhythm of the world. The crisis that started in China has become a global crisis that crippled many nations in terms of health and economy. From the events that have happened and still happening, we can notice that humans were not prepared for the onslaught of this killer pandemic. The businesses and industries in Malaysia were also not spared by this killer pandemic. One of the hard-hit industries, due to this pandemic is the automotive industry in Malaysia. Therefore, this research aims to discover how Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the marketing efforts undertaken by the automotive industry in Malaysia. Consequently, to achieve the objective of this research, the survey technique is used to develop a detailed profile, which is gathered from 337 out of 450 formal standardized questionnaires sent online to marketers at twelve automotive companies in Malaysia. This research applied the quantitative methods to yield empirical results and validations that answer the research question. The literature examined the areas of the marketing concept, context and strategies to fill the gap and to determine the significant relationship between the Covid-19 pandemic and the marketing efforts undertaken by the marketers of the automotive industry. The analysis shows that Covid-19 pandemic has a significant relationship and correlated negatively to marketing efforts. The hypothesis proved that Covid-19 pandemic has a significant relationship with marketing efforts. Thus, this study could also help all other businesses and industries in Malaysia stay vigilant and overwhelm the assault of this silent enemy. By making a shift to its marketing concept, context and strategies, the automotive industry could regain its momentum from the onslaught of the silent enemy (Covid-19) pandemic.</p><p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0626/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>

Throughout human history, pandemic has created sufferings and uncertainties, leading to frantic searches for remedy scientifically and spiritually, including the current COVID-19 pandemic that has inundated the whole world. Fortunately, advances in science have helped contain many deadly deceases an

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on the global oil industry. In that year, oil demand fell sharply, refinery operating rate fell sharply, and crude oil trade shrank significantly. In 2020, the total volume of global crude oil trade decreased by 7% year-on-year to 42.23 mmbd, but crude oil imports in the Asia–Pacific region still increased despite the pandemic. The focus of global crude oil trade continued to move eastward, and China’s crude oil imports reached a new high, maintaining its position as the world’s largest crude oil importer. Although US crude oil exports continued to grow, it has somewhat slowed. Asia–Pacific nations and Europe were the export areas of US crude oil. OPEC + reached the largest production reduction agreement in history, and the export volume and market share of crude oil in the Middle East saw a substantial decline both ways. With the effective alleviation of the pandemic situation, the global crude oil trade volume is expected to pick up in 2021. Asia–Pacific region, as a major region with newly increased refining capacity in the world, will further increase its crude oil imports. With the recovery of oil prices, US crude oil production is expected to increase gradually, and crude oil exports still have growth potential. It will be the general trend for OPEC + to gradually relax the quota of production reduction. The US and Iran send out a positive message, and Iranian crude oil may come back, which will boost the export volume of crude oil in the Middle East. In the medium and long term, the Middle East is still the most important crude oil export region in the world, but its market share is declining; America is the main source of new crude oil supply, and its importance in global crude oil export has gradually become prominent. Meanwhile, the uncertainty of global crude oil trade in the medium and long term has increased, and oil production in some oil-producing countries is unstable, and the export volume may shrink. What’s more, the global low-carbon environmental protection policies are becoming stricter, and the peak of global oil demand under the background of carbon neutrality may come ahead of schedule, which also brings more challenges to crude oil trade.KeywordsCrude oil tradeMoving eastwardOPECUS exportsCarbon–neutral

PurposeThis paper examines the extreme dependence and asymmetric risk spillovers between crude oil futures and ten US stock sector indices (consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, telecommunication and utilities) before and during COVID-19 outbreak. This study is based on the rationale that stock sectors exhibit heterogeneity in their response to oil prices depending on whether they are classified as oil-intensive or non-oil-intensive sectors and the possible time variation in the dependence and risk spillover effects.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employ static and dynamic symmetric and asymmetric copula models as well as Conditional Value at Risk (VaR) (CoVaR). Finally, they use robustness tests to validate their results.FindingsBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, crude oil returns showed an asymmetric tail dependence with all stock sector returns, except health care and industrials (materials), where an average (symmetric tail) dependence is identified. During the COVID-19 pandemic, crude oil returns exhibit a lower tail dependency with the returns of all stock sectors, except financials and consumer discretionary. Furthermore, there is evidence of downside and upside risk asymmetric spillovers from crude oil to stock sectors and vice versa. Finally, the risk spillovers from stock sectors to crude oil are higher than those from crude oil to stock sectors, and they significantly increase during the pandemic.Originality/valueThere is heterogeneity in the linkages and the asymmetric bidirectional systemic risk between crude oil and US economic sectors during bearish and bullish market conditions; this study is the first to investigate the average and extreme tail dependence and asymmetric spillovers between crude oil and US stock sectors.

Recent health issues have raised awareness among the general public and stimulated debate over the future forms of urban living. Those factors which enhance healthier environments are receiving broader recognition in maintaining the health of citizens in a time of pandemic. The current article explores the framework of ecosystem services to examine the temporary interventions introduced in response to the current challenges. These short-term adjustments may indicate possible pathways for the future. Analyses of the impacts of forms of urban settings and particularly of green infrastructure as a primary element which improves citizens’ health are used to support the reflections.

Bolesti su kroz čitavu povijest imale veliki utjecaj na razvoj i prosperitet čovječanstva, pobuđivale su pozornost zbog masovnosti pojave, velike smrtnosti među oboljelima i dalekosežnih posljedica koje su prouzročile. Zbog straha od gubitka zdravlja i nestanka života, bolest i smrt oduvijek su bile čovjekove bitne preokupacije. Velike epidemije su tijekom povijesti odlučivale o sudbini pojedinih naroda, slabile su snagu moćnih i velikih sila, prouzročile glad i bijedu. Epidemije velikih boginja, kuge, malarije, sifilisa, kolere, pjegavog tifusa, lepre i tuberkuloze obilježile su povijesti i bile su stalni pratitelj stradanja, nesreća i patnji ljudi tijekom minulih stoljeća. U XX. stoljeću „španjolska gripa ‒ majka svih pandemija“ obilježila je početak stoljeća, a pred kraj tog stoljeća pojava AIDS-a, svojom pojavom i posljedicama prestrašila je svijet. I u novom tisućljeću bolesti predstavljaju veliku i stalnu prijetnju današnjem društvu i dalje su jedan od najvećih ubojica u svijetu. Danas od zaraznih bolesti godišnje umire približno 15 milijuna ljudi. Pojava pandemije s COVID-19, najveće epidemije u XXI. stoljeću u iznimno kratkom vremenu promijenila je svijet i svijet je na koljenima. Ne mimoilazi ni bogate i svjetski snažne države ni državnike. Taj strah svakako postaje veći i opravdaniji kada Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija napominje da je čovječanstvo u ozbiljnoj i strašnoj opasnosti. Jedno je sigurno, a to je da nas pojava epidemije različitih bolesti potakne na duboko razmišljanje o budućnosti koja u tom slučaju postaje neizvjesna, remeti naše planove, korigira i usporava ciljeve.

The H1N1 “Spanish influenza” pandemic of 1918–1919 caused the highest known number of deaths recorded for a single pandemic in human history. Several theories have been offered to explain the virulence and spread of the disease, but the environmental context remains underexamined. In this study, we present a new environmental record from a European, Alpine ice core, showing a significant climate anomaly that affected the continent from 1914 to 1919. Incessant torrential rain and declining temperatures increased casualties in the battlefields of World War I (WWI), setting the stage for the spread of the pandemic at the end of the conflict. Multiple independent records of temperature, precipitation, and mortality corroborate these findings.

Pandemics are global disease outbreaks that have significantly impacted societies, economies, and public health systems throughout history. From the bubonic plague to the Spanish flu and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, these crises have shaped human development and exposed vulnerabilities in health and economic systems. The epidemiological transition outlines three phases of human history: famine and pandemics, reduced outbreaks, and the current phase of degenerative diseases. The COVID-19 pandemic, a historic event, caused severe health, social, and economic disruptions globally. The economic consequences of pandemics are extensive, often persisting long after the health crisis subsides. The COVID-19 pandemic caused widespread unemployment, heightened poverty levels, and significant disruptions in industries and education. Governments implemented fiscal and monetary policies, including direct stimulus measures, to mitigate these effects. However, these actions introduced inflationary pressures and increased public debt, highlighting the complex balance between relief and economic stability. Public health responses, such as vaccination drives and non-pharmaceutical interventions, played a pivotal role in containing COVID-19. The pandemic emphasized the importance of integrating public health and economic policies to ensure comprehensive crisis management. Despite advancements in medical science and policy coordination, challenges such as misinformation, geopolitical tensions, and inadequate global cooperation hindered effective responses. Moving forward, governments must prioritize coordinated health and economic strategies to mitigate future pandemics. Strengthening global collaborations, improving public health systems, and leveraging technology will be crucial to building resilience and ensuring sustainable recovery from health crises.

In this article, we report the results of a randomized controlled experiment that examines how exposure to information about a global pandemic from Asia affects white Americans’ prosocial behavior towards white, black, and Asian Americans. We find that when exposed to a new disease threat from Asia, (1) white Americans donate significantly less money to Asian American recipients than to white or black American recipients, (2) liberals and conservatives are equally likely to discriminate, and (3) a significant spike in media attention about violence against Asians inhibited this discriminatory behavior—at least temporarily. Our experiment allows us to rule out alternative explanations for the unequal treatment of Asian Americans, providing evidence of a causal link between the COVID-19 pandemic and racial discrimination. The study contributes to knowledge about the spillover effects of external threats on race relations and has implications for public health and science communication.

The relationship between oil prices and metal prices has been extensively investigated. However, the tail risk, systemic risk and spillover risk of oil prices have not been investigated via extreme value theory (EVT). We use this novel approach to determine the tail risk of oil, precious metals, how much risk they pose to the financial system and to what extent a shock in oil prices spill over to other precious metals as well as from the financial system. We use long time series of daily data from 1st January 1987 to 31st December 2021 as long time series is required for the EVT. The data is based on the total return index (RI) of four precious metals including gold, platinum, palladium and silver. Our results show that the tail risk of these metals is lower during the crisis period except the Covid-19 pandemic crisis. Most importantly, gold is a safer asset due to the lowest tail risk among four precious metals, indicating the claim that gold is a precious asset to mitigate the returns during market downturns and acts as a ‘safe haven’. Moreover, we also find that extreme systemic risk (tail-β) for crude oil and selected precious metals reduces during crisis period. This is also recognising the fact that these commodities act as a prospective asset for portfolio diversification to hedge against financial assets' volatility. Finally, the spillover risk among crude oil and selected precious metals varies over time, especially during the crisis period and crude oil is an important stimulator of the spillover risk for precious metals. By using our findings, financial market investors can improve their investment planning to attain the maximum advantage of portfolio diversification. Financial managers can further apply these results in forecasting to estimate future global oil market trends for improving their hedging skills and portfolio performance.