title: Initial and long-term costs of patients hospitalized with West Nile virus disease.
abstract: There are no published data on the economic burden for specific West Nile virus (WNV) clinical syndromes (i.e., fever, meningitis, encephalitis, and acute flaccid paralysis [AFP]). We estimated initial hospital and lost-productivity costs from 80 patients hospitalized with WNV disease in Colorado during 2003; 38 of these patients were followed for 5 years to determine long-term medical and lost-productivity costs. Initial costs were highest for patients with AFP (median $25,117; range $5,385-$283,381) and encephalitis (median $20,105; range $3,965-$324,167). Long-term costs were highest for patients with AFP (median $22,628; range $624-$439,945) and meningitis (median $10,556; range $0-$260,748). Extrapolating from this small cohort to national surveillance data, we estimated the total cumulative costs of reported WNV hospitalized cases from 1999 through 2012 to be $778 million (95% confidence interval $673 million-$1.01 billion). These estimates can be used in assessing the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent WNV disease.
authors: Arboviral Diseases Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins, Colorado; Prion and Health Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia; Division of Preparedness and Emerging Infections, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia.
authors: J Erin
authors: JE
authors: Staples
authors: Manjunath B
authors: MB
authors: Shankar
authors: James J
authors: JJ
authors: Sejvar
authors: Martin I
authors: MI
authors: Meltzer
authors: Marc
authors: M
authors: Fischer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000191:economics*; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D016527:Drug Costs; D004389:Durable Medical Equipment / Q000191:economics; D018792:Encephalitis, Viral / Q000191:economics / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D017048:Health Care Costs; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000191:economics*; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008587:Meningitis, Viral / Q000191:economics / Q000209:etiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009010:Monte Carlo Method; D010264:Paraplegia / Q000191:economics / Q000209:etiology; D014481:United States; D014901:West Nile Fever / Q000150:complications / Q000191:economics*; D055815:Young Adult