Estimating the Cost of Prevention and Control of Rabies: A Case Study in the Northwest of Iran

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