Economic and epidemiological impact of dengue illness over 16 years from a public health system perspective in Brazil to inform future health policies including the adoption of a dengue vaccine

Introduction: Dengue is a serious global health problem endemic in Brazil. Consequently, our aim was to measure the costs and disease burden of symptomatic dengue infections in Brazil from the perspective of the Brazilian Public Health System (SUS) between 2000 and 2015, using Brazilian public health system databases. Specific age group incidence estimates were used to calculate the disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) to gain a better understanding of the disease burden.

Areas covered: SUS spent almost USD159 million and USD10 million to treat dengue and severe dengue, respectively, between 2000 and 2015. This is principally hospitalization costs, with the majority of patients self-treated at home with minor symptoms. The average notification rate for dengue was 273 per 100,000 inhabitants and three per 100,000 for severe dengue, with annual DALYs estimates ranging between 72.35 and 6,824.45 during the 16 years.

Expert commentary: The epidemiological and morbidity burden associated with dengue is substantial in Brazil, with costs affected by the fact that most patients self-treat at home with these costs not included in SUS. The Brazilian government urgently needs to proactively evaluate the real costs and clinical benefits of any potential dengue vaccination program by the National Immunization Program to guide future decision-making.