Analysis of the direct and indirect costs of treatment of imported malaria in the Slovak Republic

Abstract

This study analyzed the approximate cost of treatment of patients hospitalized with a diagnosis of imported malaria in Slovakia. Between 2003 and 2007, 15 patients with imported malaria were hospitalized. The mean direct cost of the treatment was 970.75 euros and the mean indirect cost was 53.15 euros. For the patient with the highest cost of treatment, the use of mefloquine prophylaxis would have represented only 0.5% of the total direct cost of treating the disease. Despite the partial resistance of plasmodia, malaria chemoprophylaxis is unequivocally a cheaper choice than subsequent treatment of malaria.Key-words: Imported malaria. Direct costs. Indirect costs. Slovak Republic. ReSuMoAnálise do custo aproximado do tratamento dos doentes hospitalizados na Eslováquia com malária importada. Entre 2003 a 2007, foram internados 15 doentes com malária importada. Os custos médios diretos do tratamento foram avaliados em 920,75 euros e indireto em 53,15 euros. No doente com o custo mais elevado de tratamento, a utilização da profilaxia com mefloquina representaria somente 0,5% do total dos custos diretos do tratamento da doença. Apesar da resistência parcial do plasmódio, a quimioprofilaxia da malária é inequivocamente uma opção mais econômica do que o tratamento posterior da malária.

Costs of treatment of children affected by severe malaria in reference hospitals of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo

“…According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 40% of the 655,000 deaths caused by malaria registered in the world in 2010 occurred in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and in Nigeria [2]. Healthcare expenditures are considerable; in endemic countries, various scientific studies showed that malaria generates catastrophic losses for households, both in terms of direct and indirect expenditures [3,[4][5][6]. In the DRC, malaria represents a significant economic and social burden.…”