Direct healthcare costs of selected diseases primarily or partially transmitted by water.
|
Direct healthcare costs of selected diseases primarily or partially transmitted by water.
|
Authors:
Address: International Health Resources Consulting, Inc., Atlanta, GA, USA.
Journal:
Publication:
SUMMARYDespite US sanitation advancements, millions of waterborne disease cases occur annually, although the precise burden of disease is not well quantified. Estimating the Direct healthcare cost of specific infections would be useful in prioritizing waterborne disease prevention activities. Hospitalization and outpatient visit costs per case and total US hospitalization costs for ten waterborne diseases were calculated using large healthcare claims and hospital discharge databases. The five primarily waterborne diseases in this analysis (giardiasis, cryptosporidiosis, Legionnaires' disease, otitis externa, and non-tuberculous mycobacterial infection) were responsible for over 40 000 hospitalizations at a cost of $970 million per year, including at least $430 million in hospitalization costs for Medicaid and Medicare patients. An additional 50 000 hospitalizations for campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, shigellosis, haemolytic uraemic syndrome, and toxoplasmosis cost $860 million annually ($390 million in payments for Medicaid and Medicare patients), a portion of which can be assumed to be due to waterborne transmission.
TraveldoctorOnline 2001 • Disclaimer • webmaster
The contents within traveldoctoronline are presented only for informational purposes and cannot substitute for professional health care or any other medical treatment.All users of this website with health problems should be oblige always to consult their medical doctor before starting any treatment.
