Socio-economic modelling of rotavirus vaccination in Castilla y Leon, Spain

Rotavirus is one of the main causes of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children. Furthermore, rotavirus is the leading cause of hospitalization and death from acute gastroenteritis among infants and young children worldwide. Although death due to rotavirus is rare in industrialized regions such as Spain, the rotavirus disease burden and its economic impact is severe. This study aims to assess systematic vaccination against rotavirus economically and socially in a Spanish region. Economic cost-effectiveness and cost-benefit assessment through a choice tree was designed. We estimated health provider costs, economic costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost due to rotavirus infections. The study includes a fictitious cohort of 100,000 children from Castilla y Leon who were also administered the rotavirus vaccine together with diphtheria and tetanus toxoids and pertussis (DTP) . The study adopted a society and health care system perspective. A sensitivity analysis was developed to assess the uncertainty of some variables. According to the estimated incidence rate for children in Castilla y Leon, rotavirus immunization is projected to prevent 45% of cases with RotaTeq and 57% with Rotarix. The respective cost per QALY is about Euro 75,000 and 50,000 from the perspective of the health care system. Routine infant vaccination in Castilla y Leon using either rotavirus vaccine is not profitable from the payer's perspective and is not cost-effective under basic case assumptions unless the vaccine is available at a lower cost.