Estimating the burden of disease and the economic cost attributable to chikungunya, Colombia, 2014.

Background: Chikungunya (CHIK) virus disease is expected to be a considerable cause of disability and economic burden in Latin America given its chronic sequelae, particularly its chronic inflammatory rheumatism. There have been no previous studies assessing CHIK costs and disability in Latin America.

Methods: We calculated incidence rates for CHIK during the 2014 outbreak in Colombia using epidemiological data provided by the Colombian National Institute of Health, using demographic data from the National Administrative Department of Statistics. The burden of disease was estimated through disability adjusted life years (DALYs) lost and the costs were estimated based on the national recommendations for CHIK acute and chronic phase attention.

Results: There were a total of 106 592 cases, with incidence rates ranging from 0 to 1837.3 cases/100 000 population in different departments. An estimate was made of total DALYs lost of 40.44 to 45.14 lost/100 000 population. The 2014 outbreak estimated costs were at least US$73.6 million.

Conclusions: Our estimates raise concerns about the effects of continued CHIK spread in Colombia and other Latin-American countries. The lack of transmission control for this disease and potential for spread means that there will be significant acute and chronic disability and related costs in the short and long term for Latin American health care systems.