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As public health experts warn that the spread of dengue fever could prove more costly globally and cause more sickness than even malaria , a new report published in the May issue of the American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene finds each year dengue is inflicting a US$ 37.8 million burden onPuerto Rico and that every $1 invested in traditional surveillanceand prevention could save $5 in costs of illness. The study by researchers at Brandeis University's SchneiderInstitutes for Health Policy is the first to look at who bears thecost - across households, governments, employers and insurancecompanies and how much - when dengue strikes. Overall, householdsaccounted for almost half of the costs of the disease, withgovernment paying for 24 percent, insurance companies 22 percent,and employers seven percent. Known as "break-bone fever" for its capacity to cause excruciatingjoint pain, the disease, which is transmitted by a bite from the Aedes aegypti mosquito, broke out in the Florida Keys in 2010 and currentlythreatens nearly three billion people worldwide. "People generally think of dengue as a disease of poor countries;the fact that we found it to be a major burden in a US territory -and because it recently has cropped up on the US mainland - is areminder that mosquito-borne illnesses can present an equalopportunity threat," said Donald Shepard, PhD, a co-author of thepaper. Worldwide dengue infects 100 to 200 million people each year andcauses 20,000 deaths. Many public health experts believe the trueburden of dengue is understated given the dramatic growth in urbanareas where dengue-infected mosquitoes thrive. Appropriatetreatment, particularly for the more severe dengue hemorrhagicfever, is critical to recovery. Shepard and his colleagues focused on Puerto Rico because it is anarea within the United States with substantial dengue transmission.In 2010, Puerto Rico experienced its largest outbreak ever ofdengue with 22,648 cases reported for an incidence rate of 57 per10,000 people. However, the availability of treatment has limiteddengue-related fatalities in Puerto Rico, with deaths averagingabout 16 per year. The Brandeis team focused mainly on the costs of treating andcoping with the disease. Researchers conducted extensive reviews ofpatient records and in-depth interviews with families about how thedisease affected their lives. For example, they found that a caseof dengue caused more missed days at work than an influenza case. The study was funded through a contract with vaccine maker SanofiPasteur, which has a dengue vaccine in late stage clinicaldevelopment. However, the company was not involved in the actualresearch or in preparing the study for publication. In an editorial accompanying the study, Duane Gubler, ScD, a denguefever expert with the Duke University-National University ofSingapore Graduate Medical School and the former chief of theDengue Branch at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,praised the research for providing a concrete portrait of dengue'seconomic impact. Gubler believes dengue is "likely more importantthan malaria globally in terms of morbidity and economic impact."But he noted that while many prior studies have considered economiceffects, prior to the Puerto Rico analysis none had provided"comprehensive data on the actual costs of dengue disease." "This research documents the other side of dengue, thedevastatingly high dollar amount paid by US families and localgovernment," said James W. Kazura, MD, President of the AmericanSociety of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, which publishes thejournal, and director of the Center for Global Health and Diseasesat Case Western Reserve University. "The type of data provided bythis study is essential for policymakers to make evidence-baseddecisions on public health tools such as disease surveillance andmosquito control campaigns so that we can reduce this economicburden." For example, the Brandeis team found that "because the cost ofillness is five times the cost of surveillance and control,"spending more to control mosquito populations could save $5 foreach additional dollar invested. And the study concludes that withfederal funding now covering 62 percent of Puerto Rico publichealth costs, "sound investments related to dengue would benefitnot only residents of Puerto Rico but all taxpayers throughout theUnited States." Additional References Citations. I am an expert from ledadvertising-displays.com, while we provides the quality product, such as Indoor Led Screens Manufacturer , China Pharmacy Led Signs, Stadium Led Display,and more.
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