An economic evaluation of Wolbachia deployments for dengue control in Vietnam
File(s)
Author(s)
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Dengue is a major public health challenge and a growing problem due to climate change. The release of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes infected with the intracellular bacterium Wolbachia is a novel form of vector control against dengue. However, there remains a need to evaluate the benefits of such an intervention at a large scale. In this paper, we evaluate the potential economic impact and cost-effectiveness of scaled Wolbachia deployments as a form of dengue control in Vietnam-targeted at the highest burden urban areas. METHODS: Ten settings within Vietnam were identified as priority locations for potential future Wolbachia deployments (using a population replacement strategy). The effectiveness of Wolbachia deployments in reducing the incidence of symptomatic dengue cases was assumed to be 75%. We assumed that the intervention would maintain this effectiveness for at least 20 years (but tested this assumption in the sensitivity analysis). A cost-utility analysis and cost-benefit analysis were conducted. RESULTS: From the health sector perspective, the Wolbachia intervention was projected to cost US$420 per disability-adjusted life year (DALY) averted. From the societal perspective, the overall cost-effectiveness ratio was negative, i.e. the economic benefits outweighed the costs. These results are contingent on the long-term effectiveness of Wolbachia releases being sustained for 20 years. However, the intervention was still classed as cost-effective across the majority of the settings when assuming only 10 years of benefits. CONCLUSION: Overall, we found that targeting high burden cities with Wolbachia deployments would be a cost-effective intervention in Vietnam and generate notable broader benefits besides health gains.
Date Issued
2023-05-30
Date Acceptance
2023-05-06
Citation
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 2023, 17 (5), pp.1-16
ISSN
1935-2727
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Start Page
1
End Page
16
Journal / Book Title
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Volume
17
Issue
5
Copyright Statement
Copyright: © 2023 Turner et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
License URL
Identifier
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37253037
PII: PNTD-D-23-00238
Subjects
Aedes
Animals
Cost-Benefit Analysis
Dengue
Humans
Mosquito Vectors
Vietnam
Wolbachia
Publication Status
Published
Coverage Spatial
United States
Article Number
e0011356
Date Publish Online
2023-05-30