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The most cost-effective use of the newly licensed Lyme disease vaccine is for people at highest risk for the disease.
Atlanta—Society will reap the greatest economic benefit if the new Lyme disease vaccine is administered to people on the basis of their individual risk, rather than to all people, says an article in the upcoming issue of Emerging Infectious Diseases, CDC's peer-reviewed journal, which tracks new and reemerging infections worldwide.
Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the United States. People usually get Lyme disease outdoors—while working, taking care of outdoor chores, or during recreational activities such as hunting or camping. Early on, the disease can cause a typical rash, fever, and other flulike symptoms; it can progress to arthritis, neurologic disease, and heart problems. To prevent Lyme disease, people have been encouraged to avoid ticks, use repellants, remove attached ticks, and reduce the numbers of ticks in the environment, but the incidence of Lyme disease has continued to increase. Thus, considerable interest greeted a vaccine newly licensed by the U.S. Drug Administration for use in the United States.
The authors of this study, health economists and scientists at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, attempted to determine the cost effectiveness of the vaccination, from the perspective of society, rather than an individual's perspective. They did this by using a computerized probability model that considered key cost components of vaccination including the costs of the vaccine itself, the cost of treating the disease early, and the probability of getting Lyme disease. The model measured the cost (or the savings) to society of preventing Lyme disease by using the vaccine.
"The probability of contracting Lyme disease is the most important factor in determining the economic benefit of vaccinating against Lyme disease," say the authors. The probability of getting Lyme disease is primarily determined by two factors—where a person lives and the amount of exposure to tick-infested areas. Some communities are at higher risk than others because they provide more opportunity for human-tick contact. Some people in a particular community are at higher risk because their activities place them in contact with Lyme disease-carrying ticks. The authors conclude that "...benefits are likely to be the greatest if the use of the vaccine can be targeted by considering both community-level incidence of Lyme disease and individual risk for exposure to tick bites and infection."
For more information, contact the CDC Media Relations Division, Office of Communication, at 404-639-3286 (tel). Access the full article at http://www.cdc.gov/EID/vol5no3/meltzer.htm. All material in Emerging Infectious Diseases is in the public domain and may be used without special permission; proper citation, however, is appreciated.
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