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Rotavirus gastroenteritis creates $50 million annual burden in Malaysia
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Recent findings published in The Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal showed that annual rotavirus gastroenteritis incidence in Malaysia resulted in one death per 100,000 children and cost the public $50 million annually.
“This current work is the most recent and complete estimation of national burden, and the only one to include data on annual discharges and outpatient visits from both public and private facilities,” Tharani Loganathan, MD, MPH, in the department of social and preventive medicine at the University of Malaya, and colleagues wrote. “Only one previous estimate of rotavirus burden in Malaysia has been published, and this inadequately considered privately treated episodes.”
In middle-income countries, the introduction of the rotavirus vaccine has lagged behind that of high- and low-income countries, often due to failure to estimate the true burden of the disease, the researchers wrote. In Malaysia, the disease burden is difficult to estimate because much of health care is delivered by the private sector.
In a meta-analysis of primary hospital-based studies, the researchers assessed rotavirus incidence in children aged younger than 5 years. They determined incidence by multiplying acute gastroenteritis events by the estimated proportion of gastroenteritis attributable to rotavirus. In addition, the investigators estimated the disease’s economic burden.
They found that annual rotavirus incidence resulted in 145,000 cases of home-treated gastroenteritis, 41,000 outpatient visits, 31,000 hospitalizations and 27 deaths. In addition, Loganathan and colleagues estimated there were 57 home-treated episodes, 16 outpatient visits, 12 hospitalizations per 1,000 children and one death per 100,000 children. Costs for these services were estimated at $34 million to the health care provider annually and $50 million to society, with a loss of productivity contributing to one-third of this cost. The researchers determined the annual cost to be $19 per child aged younger than 5 years, which was comparable to the burden in upper-middle income countries ($15 per child).
“With the anticipated availability of more affordable rotavirus vaccines, an accurate estimation of disease burden is necessary when considering the benefits of preventing illness,” Loganathan and colleagues wrote. “This provides vital information for future evaluation of cost-effectiveness and the broader economic impacts of vaccination, which are necessary for policymaking regarding universal vaccination.” – by Will Offit
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.
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