An economic evaluation of the national schistosomiasis control programme in China from 1992 to 2000.
The World Bank Loan Project, by far the largest effort in China for schistosomiasis control since control activities were initiated in the mid 1950s, was carried out for a 9-year period commencing in 1992 in the 8 provinces where Schistosoma japonicum remained endemic when the project started. To evaluate its impact, a retrospective economic evaluation was done in 2001. Six representative counties, i.e. Huarong in Hunan province, Qianjiang in Hubei province, Yugan in Jiangxi province, Tongling in Anhui province, Xichang in Sichuan province and Dali in Yunnan province, were selected for the study. The total financial input in these counties from 1992 to 2000 was RMB Yuan 90.334 million with the World Bank loan accounting for 40.9%. Control efforts resulted in reduction of human prevalence rates in the six counties from 0.7-9.0% in 1992 to 0.1-2.7% in 2000. With regard to S. japonicum infection in bovines, a high reduction was observed in Qianjiang, and smaller decreases were noted in four counties, while there was an increase in Dali. In general, the areas infested by the intermediate host snail fluctuated around the initial level. The net benefit-cost ratio was 6.20, which means that this project gained US$ 6.20 for every dollar spent. The correlation coefficients of the net benefit-cost ratio to the human and bovine infection rates at the beginning of the project were 0.55 and 0.66, respectively. It is conceivable that further progress in schistosomiasis control is an important feature for sustained growth of the local economy, particularly in areas where control of the disease has been most challenging.
Zhou
Xiao-Nong
XN
National Institute of Parasitic Diseases, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Fudan University, Shanghai 200025, China. ipdzhouxn@sh163.net
Wang
Li-Ying
LY
Chen
Ming-Gang
MG
Wang
Tian-Ping
TP
Guo
Jia-Gang
JG
Wu
Xiao-Hua
XH
Jiang
Qing-Wu
QW
Zheng
Jiang
J
Chen
Xian-Yi
XY
D002681:China / Q000453:epidemiology; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D006801:Humans; D012554:Schistosomiasis japonica / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D013997:Time Factors