Economic evaluation of the surveillance and intervention programme for bluetongue virus serotype 8 in Switzerland

Empirical analyses founded on sound economic principles are essential in advising policy makers on the efficiency of resource use for disease mitigation. Surveillance and intervention are resource-using activities directed at mitigation. Surveillance helps to offset negative disease effects by promoting successful intervention. Intervention is the process of implementing measures (e.g. vaccination or medication) to reduce or remove a hazard in a population. The scale and ratios in which the two are combined affect the efficiency of mitigation, its costs, benefits, and thus net effect on society's well-being. The Swiss national mitigation programme for bluetongue virus serotype 8 was used as case study to investigate the economic efficiency of mitigation. In 2008, Switzerland implemented a vaccination programme to avoid and reduce disease and infection in its ruminant population. To monitor the vaccination programme and the vector dynamics, a surveillance system consisting of serological and entomological surveillance was established. Retrospective analyses for the years 2008-2009 and prospective analyses for the years 2010-2012 were conducted to investigate if the mitigation programme was economically beneficial. In the retrospective analysis, the implemented programme (=comparative scenario) was compared to a hypothesised baseline scenario of voluntary vaccination and surveillance. In the prospective analysis, the comparative scenario assumed to continue was compared to two baseline scenarios: one of voluntary vaccination combined with surveillance and one of no vaccination combined with surveillance. For each scenario, monetary surveillance, intervention and disease costs were calculated. The comparison of baseline and comparative scenarios yielded estimates for the total benefit (=disease costs avoided), margin over intervention cost and the net value of the programme. For 2008-2009, in aggregate, the mean biannual total benefit was 17.46 m Swiss francs (CHF) (1CHF=0.66€ at the time of analysis) and the mean net benefit after subtraction of the intervention and surveillance cost was 3.95 m CHF. For the three years 2010-2012, overall net costs were estimated at 12.93 m and 8.11 m CHF, respectively, for comparison of the implemented mitigation programme with the two baseline scenarios. It was concluded that the surveillance and intervention programme implemented in 2008-2009 was economically beneficial, while its continuation in the same form in 2010-2012 would produce net costs. These costs were due to the mean intervention cost remaining constant at a level of approximately 11 m CHF per year while the mean total benefit would be gradually reduced in 2010-2012 due to the reduced occurrence of disease in a fully vaccinated population.