title: Potential cost-effectiveness of a preventive hepatitis C vaccine in high risk and average risk populations in Canada.
abstract: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) vaccine development remains at an early stage. We explored the economic and health consequences of potential HCV vaccines by comparing universal vaccination with a hepatitis C vaccine to no vaccination in two groups: (1) injecting drug users (IDU); (2) all 12 year olds, using a Markov cohort simulation. Among IDUs, vaccination would avert 248 cases of HCV infection and 89 HCV-related deaths per 1000 individuals, and reduce costs. In average risk cohorts, vaccination did not reduce costs but was reasonably cost effective. These results provide encouragement to vaccine developers that a vaccine that is moderately effective and reasonably priced should not face economic barriers to implementation and will be attractive to third party payers.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University Health Network, Department of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation, University of Toronto, 200 Elizabeth Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5G 1C4. murray.krahn@uhn.on.ca
authors.forename: Murray D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Krahn
authors.forename: Ava
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: John-Baptiste
authors.forename: Qilong
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Yi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Doria
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Remis
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ritvo
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Friedman
mesh_terms: D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006801:Humans; D008390:Markov Chains; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D012307:Risk Factors; D015819:Substance Abuse, Intravenous / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use
chemical_list: D014761:Viral Hepatitis Vaccines