In the United States, typhoid vaccination is recommended for international travelers to areas with a recognized risk of typhoid exposure. Using MarketScan® Commercial Database from 2016 through 2022, we estimated typhoid vaccination costs by route (injectable vs. oral) and provider setting (clinic vs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Community-based mask wearing has been shown to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. However, few studies have conducted an economic evaluation of mask mandates, specifically in public transportation settings. This study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of implementing mask mandates for subway passengers in the United States by evaluating its potential to reduce COVID-19 transmission during subway travel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFZoonoses Public Health
September 2024
Background: Dog-mediated rabies virus variant (DMRVV), a zoonotic pathogen that causes a deadly disease in animals and humans, is present in more than 100 countries worldwide but has been eliminated from the United States since 2007. In the United States, the U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) may be considered as part of national pandemic preparedness as a first line defense against influenza pandemics. Preemptive school closures (PSCs) are an NPI reserved for severe pandemics and are highly effective in slowing influenza spread but have unintended consequences.
Methods: We used results of simulated PSC impacts for a 1957-like pandemic (i.
Introduction: Schools close in reaction to seasonal influenza outbreaks and, on occasion, pandemic influenza. The unintended costs of reactive school closures associated with influenza or influenza-like illness (ILI) has not been studied previously. We estimated the costs of ILI-related reactive school closures in the United States over eight academic years.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The risk of developing strongyloidiasis hyperinfection syndrome appears to be elevated among individuals who initiate corticosteroid treatment. Presumptive treatment or treatment after screening for populations from Strongyloides stercoralis-endemic areas has been suggested before initiating corticosteroids. However, potential clinical and economic impacts of preventative strategies have not been evaluated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe estimated inpatient and outpatient payments for malaria treatment in the USA. The mean cost per hospitalized patient was significantly higher than for non-hospitalized patients (e.g.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDrug utilization and payment estimates for standard-of-care treatment of schistosomiasis have not been reported previously in the United States. This study estimates the utilization of praziquantel (standard-of-care drug) among patients with schistosomiasis and outpatient payments among those who were treated with praziquantel, and investigates the factors associated with praziquantel use from 2013-19 using IBM's MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters database. Claims data showed that only 21% of patients with schistosomiasis diagnoses were treated with praziquantel.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTo assess appropriate drug treatment of parasitic diseases in the United States, we examined the treatment rates of 11 selected parasitic infections with standard-of-care prescription drugs and compared them to the treatment rates of two more common bacterial infections (Clostridioides difficile and streptococcal pharyngitis). We used the 2013 to 2019 IBM® MarketScan® Commercial Claims and Encounters and MarketScan® Multi-State Medicaid databases, which included up to 7 years of data for approximately 88 million and 17 million individuals, respectively, to estimate treatment rates of each infection. The number of patients diagnosed with each parasitic infection varied from 57 to 5,266, and from 12 to 2,018, respectively, across the two databases.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTrends in the percentages of the US population covered by state-issued nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including restaurant and bar restrictions, stay-at-home orders, gathering limits, and mask mandates, were examined by using county-specific data sets on state-issued orders for NPIs from March 1, 2020, to August 15, 2021. Most of the population was covered by multiple NPIs early in the pandemic. Most state-issued orders were lifted or relaxed as COVID-19 cases decreased during summer 2020.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTransbound Emerg Dis
September 2022
CDC estimates 1 million dogs are imported into the United States annually. With the movement of large numbers of animals into the United States the risk of disease importation, especially emerging diseases, and animal welfare issues are of concern. Dogs that arrive to the United States ill or dead are investigated by public health authorities to ensure dogs are not infected with diseases of concern (such as rabies).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis cross-sectional study examines the association of prices for drugs to treat hookworm and pinworm with prescribing and prescription-filling behaviors and total outpatient treatment costs.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe price of certain antiparasitic drugs (e.g., albendazole and mebendazole) has dramatically increased since 2010.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: While persons who receive immigrant and refugee visas are screened for active tuberculosis before admission into the United States, nonimmigrant visa applicants (NIVs) are not routinely screened and may enter the United States with infectious tuberculosis.
Objectives: We evaluated the costs and benefits of expanding pre-departure tuberculosis screening requirements to a subset of NIVs who arrive from a moderate (Mexico) or high (India) incidence tuberculosis country with temporary work visas.
Methods: We developed a decision tree model to evaluate the program costs and estimate the numbers of active tuberculosis cases that may be diagnosed in the United States in two scenarios: 1) "Screening": screening and treatment for tuberculosis among NIVs in their home country with recommended U.
The 2015 Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) outbreak in the Republic of Korea (ROK) is an example of an infectious disease outbreak initiated by international travelers to a high-income country. This study was conducted to determine the economic impact of the MERS outbreak on the tourism and travel-related service sectors, including accommodation, food and beverage, and transportation, in the ROK. We projected monthly numbers of noncitizen arrivals and indices of services for 3 travel-related service sectors during and after the MERS outbreak (June 2015 to June 2016) using seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Tuberc Lung Dis
April 2018
Setting: In 2007, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revised its tuberculosis (TB) technical instructions for panel physicians who administer mandatory medical examinations among US-bound immigrants. Many US-bound immigrants come from the Philippines, a high TB prevalence country.
Objective: To quantify economic and health impacts of smear- vs.
Background: Newly arrived refugees are offered vaccinations during domestic medical examinations. Vaccination practices and costs for refugees have not been described with recent implementation of the overseas Vaccination Program for U.S.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Dengue fever is a major public health concern in many parts of the tropics and subtropics. The first dengue vaccine has already been licensed in six countries. Given the growing interests in the effective use of the vaccine, it is critical to understand the economic burden of dengue fever to guide decision-makers in setting health policy priorities.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Vaccination Program for US-bound Refugees (VPR) currently provides one or two doses of some age-specific Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP)-recommended vaccines to US-bound refugees prior to departure.
Methods: We quantified and compared the full vaccination costs for refugees using two scenarios: (1) the baseline of no VPR and (2) the current situation with VPR. Under the first scenario, refugees would be fully vaccinated after arrival in the United States.
Background On August 24, 2011, 31 US-bound refugees from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (KL) arrived in Los Angeles. One of them was diagnosed with measles post-arrival. He exposed others during a flight, and persons in the community while disembarking and seeking medical care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Many U.S.-bound refugees travel from countries where intestinal parasites (hookworm, Trichuris trichuria, Ascaris lumbricoides, and Strongyloides stercoralis) are endemic.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Service provider costs for vaccine delivery have been well documented; however, vaccine recipients' costs have drawn less attention. This research explores the private household out-of-pocket and opportunity costs incurred to receive free oral cholera vaccine during a mass vaccination campaign in rural Odisha, India.
Methods: Following a government-driven oral cholera mass vaccination campaign targeting population over one year of age, a questionnaire-based cross-sectional survey was conducted to estimate private household costs among vaccine recipients.