| Background: The significance of rabies is due to high mortality rate, economic
damage caused by livestock loss, and high costs of treatment. Considering the
economic problems in developing countries as well as the lack of resources and
facilities, economic assessments will be very useful in obtaining the necessary financial
information. Therefore, the present study aims to estimate the cost of prevention and
control of rabies in Ahar, East Azarbaijan, during 2010-2011 and 2011-2012.
Methods: This is a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in Ahar, East
Azarbaijan. This study was carried out using available documents (Vaccine registries,
Human Resources Department records, Staff daily wages) and data collection
(Ministry of Health and Medical Education, Taxi Administration, Municipality
Office and the Veterinary Network) to estimate the cost of prevention and control of
rabies during 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. The societal perspective was taken into
account to estimate costs. Data was entered into SPSS version 20 and the total cost
was calculated. Also, the Mann-Whitney U test was used for data analysis.
Results: The total financial burden of preventing and controlling rabies in Ahar during
2010-2011 and 2011-2012 was about 803 and 850 million rials respectively. The loss
of the patient's income (240 and 260 million rials during 2010-2011 and 2011-2012),
cost of rabies vaccine (approximately 231 and 237 million rials during 2010-2011 and
2011-2012), and staff costs (approximately 118 and 247 million rials during 2010-2011
and 2011-2012) had the largest share of the cost, while cost of tetanus vaccine (1.3 and
1.2 million rials during 2010-2011 and 2011-2012) had the smallest share.
Conclusion: The present study showed that the prevention and control of rabies
put a significant financial burden on the government through direct medical
expenses, rabies control program for dogs, and care of the disease. It put a burden
on the people, as well, through the loss of productivity and income, and
transportation costs. |