Assessing the cost burden of dengue infection to households in seremban, malaysia.
ASSESSING THE COST BURDEN OF DENGUE INFECTION TO HOUSEHOLDS IN SEREMBAN, MALAYSIA.
Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health. 2016 Nov;47(6):1167-76
Authors: Mia MS, Begum RA, Er AC, Pereira JJ
Abstract
Dengue is endemic in all parts of Malaysia. However, there is limited
data regarding the cost burden of this disease at household level. We aimed to
examine the cost of dengue infection at the household level in Seremban District,
Malaysia. This cost assessment can provide an insight to policy-makers about
economic impact of dengue infection in order to guide and prioritize control strategies.
The data were collected via interview. We evaluated120 previous dengue
infection patients registered at the Tuanku Ja’afar Hospital, Seremban District,
Malaysia. The average duration of dengue illness was 9.69 days. The average
household days lost was 18.7; students lost an average of 6.3 days of school and
patients and caregivers lost an average of 12.5 days of work. The mean total cost
per case of dengue infection was estimated to be USD365.16 with the indirect
cost being USD327.90 (89.8% of the total cost) and the direct cost being USD37.26
(10.2% of the total cost). Our findings suggest each episode of dengue infection
imposes a significant financial burden at the household level in Seremban District,
Malaysia; most of the burden being indirect cost. This cost needs to be factored
into the overall cost to society of dengue infection. This d...
Source: Southeast Asian Journal of Tropical Medicine and Public Health - Category: Tropical Medicine Tags: Southeast Asian J Trop Med Public Health Source Type: research