Mar 22, 2019
Homeland Preparedness News Reports on Metabiota's MPI Publication
New index offers tool to monitor global disease outlook A new global index offers an original way to monitor national-level preparedness for infectious disease, providing a holistic view of a country’s capacity to mitigate the spread of illness and pandemics. Created by researchers at Metabiota, the Epidemic Preparedness Index (EPI) factors in a country’s economic resources, public health communications, infrastructure, public health systems and institutional capacity. The goal is that this information can be tailored to create tools for governments and public health groups to better respond during a health crisis. The publication of the index appeared in the BMJ Global Health. To read more, click here.
Mar 08, 2019
Insurance Business Magazine Publishes New Metabiota Post on International Women's Day 2019
Why gender matters for global insurance companies With International Women’s Day fast-approaching on March 8, it’s more important than ever before for global companies to evaluate how well they’re diversifying their team and how to ensure the success of their female managers and executives, particularly those in the insurance industry. The share of women sitting on the boards of Fortune 500 companies is roughly 22 percent; however, a study by Catalyst shows that globally, the percentage of women participating in the labor force is declining. And in 2017, women only accounted for 22 percent of executive committee roles in North America. Moreover, only 12 percent of women in the insurance industry are in top management positions, according to a report from Credit Suisse. To read more of this article, click here.
Mar 06, 2019
Metabiota Named to Oxbow Partners Impact25 Top Insurtech Companies List
More proof of the power and promise of Metabiota's innovative approach to epidemic risk modeling – Metabiota was recognized by Oxbow Partners as part of its annual InsurTech Impact 25, which highlights technology-led businesses that are best placed to impact the insurance industry in 2019. Oxbow Partners selects members to the IMPACT 25 list on two criteria: traction as measured by material revenues or revenue growth and potential as defined by a differentiated yet sustainable value proposition. To read more about IMPACT 25, click here. To download the report, click here.
Feb 21, 2019
Metabiota Publishes "Using Social Media to Estimate Zika's Impact on Tourism: #babymoon, 2014-2017" in PLOS ONE
Abstract Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly and other birth defects. We hypothesized that the Latin America Zika epidemic resulted in pregnant women and their partners adopting behavioral changes to limit risk, leading them to forego travel to Zika-affected locations. We evaluated this hypothesis by studying travelers’ intent and behavior through Twitter data related to babymoon: a holiday taken by parents-to-be before their baby is born. We found the odds of mentioning representative Zika-affected locations in #babymoon tweets dropped significantly (Odds ratio: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.20–0.40) after the Zika-microcephaly association became well-known. This result was further corroborated through a content analysis of #babymoon tweets mentioning Zika-affected locations, which identified if the Twitter user was physically present in the Zika-affected locations. Conversely, we found a small but statistically insignificant increase in the odds of mentioning Zika-free locations from #babymoon tweets (Odds Ratio: 1.11, 95% CI: 0.97–1.27) after the Zika-microcephaly association became well-known. For access to entire publication, click here.
Jan 31, 2019
Metabiota Publishes "Assessing Global Preparedness for the Next Pandemic: Development and Application of an Epidemic Preparedness Index" in BMJ Global Health
Abstract Introduction Robust metrics for national-level preparedness are critical for assessing global resilience to epidemic and pandemic outbreaks. However, existing preparedness assessments focus primarily on public health systems or specific legislative frameworks, and do not measure other essential capacities that enable and support public health preparedness and response. Methods We developed an Epidemic Preparedness Index (EPI) to assess national-level preparedness. The EPI is global, covering 188 countries. It consists of five subindices measuring each country’s economic resources, public health communications, infrastructure, public health systems and institutional capacity. To evaluate the construct validity of the EPI, we tested its correlation with proxy measures for preparedness and response capacity, including the timeliness of outbreak detection and reporting, as well as vaccination rates during the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. Results The most prepared countries were concentrated in Europe and North America, while the least prepared countries clustered in Central and West Africa and Southeast Asia. Better prepared countries were found to report infectious disease outbreaks more quickly and to have vaccinated a larger proportion of their population during the 2009 pandemic. Conclusion The EPI measures a country’s capacity to detect and respond to infectious disease events. Existing tools, such as the Joint External Evaluation (JEE), have been designed to measure preparedness within a country over time. The EPI complements the JEE by providing a holistic view of preparedness and is constructed to support comparative risk assessment between countries. The index can be updated rapidly to generate global estimates of pandemic preparedness that can inform strategy and resource allocation. To read the entire publication, click here.
Jan 22, 2019
Outbreak News Today Radio Interviewed Metabiota’s Dr. Patrick Ayscue About Epidemic Risk for Industry Sectors
Earlier this month, the pioneer in epidemic risk modeling, Metabiota, unveiled its predictions for the industries that are most likely to be impacted by a healthcare crisis in the year ahead. I was joined by Metabiota’s director of epidemiology, Patrick Ayscue, DVM to discuss these 2019 predictions. Click here to listen to the audio podcast.
Jan 15, 2019
Corporate Risk and Insurance Shares Metabiota's Top Three Industries Ripe for Epidemic Risk Insurance
Epidemic risk is a real threat facing companies, and any industry that depends on consumers’ sentiment is at risk of economic loss due to infectious diseases. That is the verdict of epidemic risk modeler Metabiota, as it reveals its predictions for the industries that are most in danger of business interruption and financial loss as a result of an epidemic, and therefore those that should be exploring insurance solutions mitigate the financial blow. To read more, click here.
Jan 14, 2019
Property Casualty 360 reports on Metabiota's Top 3 Industries Most at Risk from Epidemics
Infectious diseases can and should be insured so that resources can be set aside to offset the impact. In 2018, there were close to 100 documented cases of disease outbreaks around the world, according to the World Health Organization. An epidemic outbreak puts countless lives at risk, but it’s also a direct threat to many companies. Such outbreaks often shake the stability of a country’s economy. In Latin American and the Caribbean, for example, the Zika virus alone may end up costing up to $18 billion. The South Korean MERS outbreak in 2015 caused a 40% drop in tourism, costing the country an estimated loss of $900 million in revenue. According to a recent survey by management consulting firm Protiviti, board members and C-suite executives want to devote additional time or resources to risk management efforts in 2019. Fortunately for them, Metabiota unveiled its predictions for the industries that are most likely to be impacted by a health crisis in the year ahead. The epidemic risk-modeling company runs large-scale epidemic simulations that factor how such an epidemic might start and spread around the world, where it might go, how many people might be infected, and more. “As we get better at understanding how outbreak events have, and could, play out, we also are getting better at translating that information into business impacts,” Dr. Patrick Ayscue, director of epidemiology at Metabiota, said in a press release. Nita Madhav, vice president of data science at Metabiota, says that Metabiota’s Pathogen Sentiment Index offers a “new way to quantify the potential for business interruption losses” because it measures the human impact of an epidemic outbreak and the economic impact caused by “fear-induced behavioral changes.” To continue reading, please click here.
Jan 10, 2019
Carrier Management Highlights Metabiota's 2019 Epidemic Risk Insights
In a recent brief, Metabiota announces the delivery of a comprehensive methodology for quantifying the potential impacts of epidemics so that the risk can be understood and policies can be delivered to protect countries and corporations from financial setbacks related to a health crisis. Within this 2-page brief, Metabiota identifies industries prone to experience insurable business interruption and revenue loss. To view this article and download, click here.
Jan 09, 2019