title: Cost analysis of bluetongue virus serotype 8 surveillance and vaccination programmes in Austria from 2005 to 2013.
abstract: This study was designed to evaluate the costs between 2005 and 2013 of the national bluetongue virus (BTV) surveillance and vaccination programmes before, during and after the BTV serotype 8 (BTV-8) outbreak in Austria commencing in 2008. In addition to an assessment of the temporal development of costs, a spatial cost analysis was performed. Within the context of this study, the term 'costs' refers to actual financial expenditure and imputed monetary costs for contributions in-kind. Costs were financed directly by the private-public sectors, by the European Commission (EC), and (in-kind) by responsible national institutions and individuals (e.g. blood sampling by veterinarians). The total net cost of the BTV-8 surveillance and vaccination programmes arising from the outbreak amounted to €22.8 million (0.86% of the national agricultural Gross Value Added), of which 32% was allocated to surveillance and 68% to the vaccination programme. Of the total programme costs, the EC supplied €4.9 million, while the remaining costs (€18 million) were directly financed from national resources. Of the latter, €14.5 million was classed as public costs, including €2 million contributions in-kind, and €3.4 million as private costs. The assessment of the costs revealed heterogeneous temporal and spatial distributions. The methodology of this analysis might assist decision makers in calculating costs for other surveillance and intervention programmes. The assessment of contributions in-kind is of importance to public authorities as it increases visibility of the available resources and shows how they have been employed. This study also demonstrates the importance of tracking changing costs per payer over time.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: beate.pinior@vetmeduni.ac.at.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pinior
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lebl
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Clair
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Firth
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rubel
authors.affiliation: Division for Data, Statistics and Risk Assessment, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Zinzendorfgasse 27/1, 8010 Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Reinhard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fuchs
authors.affiliation: Federal Ministry of Health, Radetzkystraße 2, 1030 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stockreiter
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Disease Control Mödling, Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES), Robert Koch-Gasse 17, 2340 Mödling, Austria.
authors.forename: Angelika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Loitsch
authors.affiliation: Institute for Veterinary Public Health, University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Köfer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001317:Austria / Q000453:epidemiology; D001819:Bluetongue / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D001820:Bluetongue virus / Q000145:classification*; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012756:Sheep; D014611:Vaccination / Q000191:economics / Q000662:veterinary; D014765:Viral Vaccines / Q000191:economics / Q000276:immunology
chemical_list: D014765:Viral Vaccines
keywords: Co-financing; Cost analysis; Public and private costs; Reported and unreported costs