title: Economic evaluation of strategies for the control and management of influenza in Europe.
abstract: We compared the cost-effectiveness of different strategies for the control and management of influenza for the elderly populations in three European countries (England and Wales, France, Germany). A "no intervention" scenario was compared with six control strategies: opportunistic vaccination (passive recruitment), comprehensive vaccination programmes (active recruitment), 4 weeks chemoprophylaxis course using neuraminidase inhibitors (NIs), 4 weeks chemoprophylaxis course using ion-channel inhibitors (ICIs), early treatment with NIs, and early treatment with ICIs. Vaccination strategies were the most cost-effective. Chemoprophylaxis strategies were highly expensive even under assumptions of optimal timing. Early treatment strategies with antivirals substantially increased demand for GP services and were more expensive than prevention through vaccination.
authors.affiliation: York Health Economics Consortium, University of York, York, UK. pas8@york.ac.uk
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Scuffham
authors.forename: P A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: West
mesh_terms: D000998:Antiviral Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000998:Antiviral Agents; D007252:Influenza Vaccines