Controlling Campylobacter in the chicken meat chain - Cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis

The aim of this study was the estimation of cost-effectiveness and cost-utility of various interventions to control Campylobacter contamination of broiler meat. The relative risk, the intervention costs, the disease burden (expressed in Disability Adjusted Live Years (DALYs)) and the costs-of-illness for the various interventions were all estimated in previous studies within the CARMA (CAmpylobacter Risk Management and Assessment) project, and were inputs for the current calculations. The cost-effectiveness is expressed in net costs per reduced campylobacteriosis case and the cost-utility is expressed in net costs per reduced DALY. There are some potential interesting intervention measures, based on their theoretical efficiency and effectiveness. The most cost-effective intervention measures are: reduction of faeces leakage in the slaughter line, decontamination of the carcass by dipping in a chemical solution, and a combination of both. Phage therapy might be another cost-effective intervention measure, depending on assumed costs/chicken. However, none of these interventions can avoid all chicken meat attributed Campylobacter cases. Irradiation is the most effective intervention, however, one of the least cost-effective