Socioeconomic burden of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome in endemic areas of Anhui Province, eastern China.

Understanding the socioeconomic burden of severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) is important for making decisions on health resources allocation. This study aimed to assess the economic burden of patients with this syndrome in endemic areas of the Anhui Province in 2018. A total of 114 patients were recruited, and the median age was 63.5 years, 62 (54.4%) were female, 97 (85.1%) were farmers, 108 (94.7%) were survival patients, and 71 (62.3%) had a family monthly income less than $453.3. The median times of hospital visits and hospitalizations of patients were three times, and the median lost work days of these patients, caregivers and visitors were 14.5 days, 14.5 days and 7.5 days, respectively. The median direct costs of the patient were $3,761.6, and the median indirect costs were $508.3. Taking direct and indirect costs into consideration, the median total economic costs of patients were $4,323.9, and the total annual cost of 2018 was $1,396,913.6. Although 113 (99.1%) patients had medical insurance, only 25.8% of costs were covered by reimbursement, and the total cost paid for by the patients and their families was $1,041,073.6 in 2018. Our findings revealed that the patients and their families had a significant economic burden, and preventive measures should be strengthened in endemic areas. The findings also provided baseline data for assessing the cost-effectiveness of the vaccines or anti-viral drugs in the near future in China.

Economic assessment of an emerging disease: the case of Schmallenberg virus in France.

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) was first detected in 2011 in Germany and then in France in 2012. This study simulates the production of different ruminant systems in France and estimates, through partial budget analyses, the economic cost of SBV at the farm level, under two disease scenarios (a high-impact and low-impact scenario). A partial budget is used to evaluate the financial effect of incremental changes, and includes only resources or production that will be changed. In the high-impact scenario, the estimated impact of SBV ranged from €23 to €43 per cow per year and €19 to €37 per ewe per year. In the low-impact scenario, it was approximately half (for cows) or one-third (for ewes) of this amount. These financial impacts represent 0.6% to 63% of the gross margin, depending on the chosen scenario and the livestock system being considered. The impacts of SBV come mainly from: the extra costs from purchasing and raising replacement heifers and losses in milk production (dairy cows); the losses in calf or lamb production (beef systems and meat sheep); and the losses in milk production and from unsold replacement lambs (dairy sheep). The use of integrated production and economic models enabled the authors to estimate the cost of SBV and to tackle the problem of scarce data, which is a difficulty for most emerging diseases, by their very nature. It also allowed the authors to develop an accurate disease impact assessment for several production systems, over a short time span. Extrapolating from this economic assessment to predict the scenario in coming years depends on the immunity period of the disease and the length of the production cycles.

Le virus de Schmallenberg a été détecté pour la première fois en 2011 en Allemagne, puis en France en 2012. Les auteurs présentent une étude de simulation de plusieurs systèmes de production de ruminants en France, dont l'objectif était d'estimer, à partir d'analyses budgétaires partielles, les coûts économiques du virus de Schmallenberg à l'échelle des exploitations, sous deux scénarios différents (hypothèses d'un fort impact et d'un faible impact de la maladie, respectivement). Une analyse budgétaire partielle sert à évaluer les conséquences financières d'un changement graduel et ne prend en compte que les modifications effectives en termes de ressources et de production. Dans l'hypothèse d'un impact fort de la maladie, l'impact annuel estimé du virus de Schmallenberg variait de 23 à 43 euros par vache et de 19 à 37 euros par brebis. Dans l'hypothèse d'un impact faible, l'impact annuel était deux fois moindre chez les vaches et trois fois moindre chez les brebis que dans la première hypothèse. Ces impacts financiers représentent 0,6 % à 63 % de la marge brute en fonction du scénario choisi et du système de production. Les impacts du virus de Schmallenberg découlent principalement des coûts supplémentaires induits par l'achat et le maintien de génisses de remplacement et d'une baisse de la production de lait (vaches laitières), des pertes de veaux ou d'agneaux (bovins et ovins de boucherie), d'une baisse de la production de lait et du coût des agnelles de remplacement invendues (brebis laitières). L'utilisation de modèles intégrant les aspects économiques et les données de production a permis aux auteurs d'estimer le coût du virus de Schmallenberg malgré la pénurie de données, s'attaquant ainsi à une difficulté inhérente à la plupart des maladies émergentes. Cela leur a également permis d'effectuer une évaluation précise de l'impact sanitaire dans plusieurs systèmes de production, sur une durée courte. La possibilité d'extrapoler à partir de cette évaluation économique un scénario pour les années à venir dépend de la période d'immunité vis-à-vis de la maladie et de la durée des cycles de production.

El virus de Schmallenberg fue detectado por primera vez en 2011 en Alemania y ulteriormente en 2012 en Francia. Los autores describen un estudio en el que se simularon distintos sistemas de producción de rumiantes en Francia y se estimó, con análisis presupuestarios parciales, el coste económico que entrañaría para una explotación el virus de Schmallenberg en dos hipotéticas situaciones sanitarias (una situación con efectos profundos y otra con efectos leves). El análisis presupuestario parcial sirve para evaluar los efectos económicos de cambios graduales, e incluye únicamente aquellos recursos y aspectos de la producción que experimentarán cambios. En la hipótesis de efectos profundos, el impacto estimado de la infección por el virus de Schmallenberg oscilaba entre 23 y 43 euros anuales por vaca y entre 19 y 37 euros anuales por oveja hembra. La hipótesis de efectos leves deparaba importes de aproximadamente la mitad (en el caso de las vacas) o un tercio (en el de las ovejas). Este impacto económico representa del 0,6% al 63% del margen bruto, dependiendo de la hipótesis elegida y del sistema productivo de que se trate. Los efectos de la infección por el virus de Schmallenberg se concretan básicamente en: los costos suplementarios derivados de adquirir y criar vaquillas de sustitución y de obtener una menor producción de leche (vacas lecheras); las pérdidas de terneros o corderos (sistemas de bovino u ovino cárnicos); y los costos derivados de la menor producción de leche y de no vender las corderas de sustitución (ovejas lecheras). El uso de modelos que integran los factores productivos y económicos sirvió a los autores para estimar el costo del virus de Schmallenberg a pesar de la escasez de datos, que, por la propia naturaleza de las enfermedades emergentes, es una dificultad común a la mayoría de ellas. También les permitió evaluar con exactitud el impacto de la enfermedad en distintos sistemas productivos en un breve lapso de tiempo. La realización de extrapolaciones a partir de esta evaluación económica para pronosticar la situación en años venideros depende del periodo de inmunidad respecto de la enfermedad y de la duración de los ciclos productivos.

A case-control study to estimate the effects of acute clinical infection with the Schmallenberg virus on milk yield, fertility and veterinary costs in Swiss dairy herds.

Schmallenberg virus (SBV) was first detected in Switzerland in July 2012 and many Swiss dairy farmers reported acute clinical signs in dairy cattle during the spread of the virus until December 2012. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the effects of an acute infection with SBV on milk yield, fertility and veterinary costs in dairy farms with clinical signs of SBV infection (case farms), and to compare those farms to a matched control group of dairy farms in which cattle did not show clinical signs of SBV infection. Herd size was significantly (p<0.001) larger in case farms (33 cows, n=77) than in control farms (25 cows, n=84). Within case herds, 14.8% (median) of the cows showed acute clinical signs. Managers from case farms indicated to have observed a higher abortion rate during the year with SBV (6.5%) than in the previous year (3.7%). Analysis of fertility parameters based on veterinary bills and data from the breeding associations showed no significant differences between case and control farms. The general veterinary costs per cow from July to December 2012 were significantly higher (p=0.02) in case (CHF 19.80; EUR 16.50) than in control farms (CHF 15.90; EUR 13.25). No differences in milk yield were found between groups, but there was a significant decrease in milk production in case farms in the second half year in 2012 compared to the same period in 2011 (p<0.001) and 2013 (p=0.009). The average daily milk yield per cow (both groups together) was +0.73kg higher (p=0.03) in the second half year 2011 and +0.52kg (p=0.12) in the second half year 2013 compared to the same half year 2012. Fifty-seven percent of the cows with acute clinical signs (n=461) were treated by a veterinarian. The average calculated loss after SBV infection for a standardized farm was CHF 1606 (EUR 1338), which can be considered as low at the national level, but the losses were subject to great fluctuations between farms, so that individual farms could have very high losses (>CHF 10,000, EUR 8333).

Schmallenberg virus infection.

Since Schmallenberg virus, an orthobunyavirus of the Simbu serogroup, was identified near the German-Dutch border for the first time in late 2011 it has spread extremely quickly and caused a large epidemic in European livestock. The virus, which is transmitted by Culicoides biting midges, infects domestic and wild ruminants. Adult animals show only mild clinical symptoms or none at all, whereas an infection during a critical period of gestation can lead to abortion, stillbirth or the birth of severely malformed offspring. The impact of the disease is usually greater in sheep than in cattle. Vaccination could be an important aspect of disease control.

Application of integrated production and economic models to estimate the impact of Schmallenberg virus for various beef suckler production systems in France and the United Kingdom.

BACKGROUND: Schmallenberg virus (SBV) was first detected in November 2011 in Germany and then rapidly spread throughout Europe. In beef suckler farms, clinical signs are mainly associated with reproductive disorders, particularly in late gestation, and intransient and non-specific symptoms, namely diarrhea, inappetence and fever. The objectives of this study were to develop models that simulate the production of different beef suckler systems in the United Kingdom (UK) and France and to use these models to estimate, through partial budget analyses, the farm-level economic cost of SBV under two disease impact scenarios, namely high and low impact. The probability for a farm to be in the high or low scenario depends, among other, on the high, low or nil vectorial activity for a given period and location and on the period(s) of sensitivity of the animals to the disease. RESULTS: Under the high impact scenario, the estimated SBV impact ranged from 26€ to 43€ per cow per year in France and from 29€ to 36€ per cow per year in the UK. It was approximately half of this amount in the low impact scenario. These financial impacts represent 5 to 16% of the gross margin, depending on the country, impact scenario and livestock system considered. Most of the SBV impact originates from the costs of the steers and heifers not produced. Differences identified between the systems studied mainly stem from differences among the value of the steers or heifers sold: SBV impact is higher for British autumn calving systems compared to spring calving, and for French farms with calving and fattening activities compared to farms with only a single, annual calving activity. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the usefulness of integrated production and economic models to accurately evaluate the costs of diseases and understand which factors have major impacts in the different systems. The models stand as a useful basis for animal health professionals when considering alternative disease control measures. They are also a farm accounting tool for estimating disease impact on differing production practices, which creates the necessary basis for cost-effectiveness analysis of intervention strategies, such as vaccination.

Preliminary survey on the impact of Schmallenberg virus on sheep flocks in South of Belgium.

Between late February and May 2012, a preliminary anonym survey was conducted among sheep farmers in south of Belgium in order to contribute to future estimations of the economic losses caused by Schmallenberg virus (SBV). Based on clinical signs consistent with SBV infection, this survey involved 13 meat sheep flocks considered as positive flocks with subsequent SBV detection by RT-qPCR [SBV-positive flocks (PF); total of 961 animals], and 13 meat sheep flocks considered as negative flocks (NF; total of 331 animals). These preliminary results indicated several significant characteristics that were more present in PF than in NF. These include an increased rate of abortions (6.7% in PF versus 3.2% in NF), of lambs born at term but presenting malformations (10.1% in PF versus 2.0% in NF) and of dystocia (10.1% in PF versus 3.4% in NF). Lamb mortality during the first week of life was reported more frequently in PF (8 of 13 PF, 61.5%) than in NF (1 of 13 NF, 7.7%). In PF, the observed prolificacy rate was 2-fold lower (93%) than expected (186%). The implementation of a survey at larger scale, including a high number of breeders, is necessary to allow a more detailed analysis of the SBV impact in the sheep sector.

Field veterinary survey on clinical and economic impact of Schmallenberg virus in Belgium.

We implemented a questionnaire-based methodology targeting veterinary field practitioners to evaluate clinical and economic impact of Schmallenberg virus in Belgium. First suspicious cases were detected as soon as July 2011. The mean cost for individual symptomatic treatment was 65 or 107 Euros, in case of fatal outcome or apparent recovery, respectively.