Publication

Economic costs of measles outbreak in the Netherlands, 2013-2014

Authored by:

Suijkerbuijk AWM, Wondenberg T, Hahne SJM et al.

Full Citation:

Suijkerbuijk AWM, Wondenberg T, Hahne SJM et al. 2015. Economic costs of measles outbreak in the Netherlands, 2013-2014. Emerging Infectious Diseases. 21(11).

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Additional key concepts from this publication:

Outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases have costly impacts on health systems and governments.

Key Evidence: A large measles outbreak in the Netherlands in 2013-14 resulted in 2700 cases of disease and cost an estimated US$4.7 million — or US$1,739 per case. Costs included outbreak response (including vaccination and enhanced surveillance), the cost of treatment (primarily hospitalizations), and the loss of productivity among caregivers ($365,000, less than 8% of total costs). Due to the likely under-reporting of the disease, the actual costs could be nearly 20% greater ($5.6 million).