Se Asian J Trop Med
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Se Asian J Trop Med · Jan 2010
Cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination as part of the national immunization program for Thai children.
Rotavirus infection is a common cause of gastroenteritis in infants and thus, presents an economic burden. Currently, there are effective vaccines against rotavirus licensed for use in Thailand. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccination as part of the national immunization program for Thai children based on information derived from studies of disease burden of rotavirus infection, vaccine effectiveness, expenditure for care according to the WHO CHOICE; average GNP per capita provided by the Bank of Thailand and statistics from the Ministry of Health. ⋯ At a maximum vaccine price of USD6.2-10.5 per dose, the cost-effectiveness ratio is approximately USD185-759 per DALY averted. Vaccine price is greatly influenced by vaccine efficacy, mortality and G genotypes of rotavirus. Rotavirus vaccination could reduce gastroenteritis in children but the price, if used as part of the national immunization program should be below USD10 per dose.