The Ebola outbreak which is currently striking three countries in West Africa, including Guinea, can have
serious socioeconomic consequences. Its implications for the food security and economic well-being of the
three countries are understudied. Our analysis contributes to anticipating and reducing the risk of
socioeconomic contagion of the health crisis. It uses economic modeling to test the sensitivity of the
national economy and households’ well-being to various transmission channels of the epidemic, including
agricultural labor force and production, and domestic and international trade. Our analysis demonstrates
that food consumption is seriously affected by the disruption of trade transactions between rural and urban
markets, and national and international markets. Farmers pay the heaviest price when confronted by the
Ebola outbreak. The simulation results confirm that greater socioeconomic impacts of the outbreak should
be associated with the behavioral responses – i.e. domestic and international trade disruptions.