Estimating the National Disease Burden and Economic Burden of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) in Thailand

BACKGROUND:Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), a single-stranded negative-sense RNA virus, causes respiratory tract infections in children and adults, leading to hospitalization and mortality. However, the national disease burden and economic impact of RSV in Thailand remain undetermined. This study aims to estimate the national disease and economic burden of RSV infections in 2023 in Thailand. METHODS:An incidence-based approach was employed to estimate the economic burden of RSV from a societal perspective. RSV incidences were calculated from the data obtained from six sentinel surveillance sites across Thailand. The distribution of adjusted age-specific incidence was employed to estimate RSV cases across different age groups. A micro-costing technique with a bottom-up method was used to calculate direct medical costs, direct non-medical costs, and indirect costs. The results were reported in Thai Baht (THB) and USD (34.96THB = 1 USD). RESULTS:An estimated 122,631 RSV cases occurred in 2023 (186 per 100,000 person-years), with 20,842 hospitalizations (17.0%) and 1156 premature deaths (5.5%). The total economic burden was 6.2 billion THB (177 million USD), or 0.03% of Thailand's gross domestic product (GDP). This included 1 billion THB (29 million USD) in direct medical costs, 349 million THB (9.9 million USD) in direct non-medical costs, and 4.8 billion THB (138 million USD) in indirect costs. Productivity loss from RSV-related premature deaths was the main cost driver, accounting for 69.35% of the total burden. CONCLUSION:RSV infection poses a substantial economic burden in Thailand, emphasizing the urgent need for targeted interventions and public health policies to reduce its impact.