WASHINGTON — Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross predicted Thursday morning that a deadly virus originating in China would cause companies to reconsider their global supply chains and ultimately “help to accelerate” the return of jobs to the United States.

In an interview on Fox Business, Mr. Ross said diseases like the Wuhan coronavirus, which has killed more than a hundred people and sickened thousands, were “another risk factor that people need to take into account” when considering where to locate operations.

“Every American’s heart has to go out to the victims of the coronavirus, so I don’t want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very malignant disease,” Mr. Ross said. “But the fact is, it does give businesses yet another thing to consider when they go through their review of their supply chain.”

He cited the deadly SARS outbreak that paralyzed China 17 years ago, as well as the African swine fever that has decimated China’s pig farms.