Reported healthcare-seeking of loiasis patients and estimation of the associated monetary burden in Gabon: Data from a cross-sectional survey.

Autor: Veletzky L; Department of Medicine I, Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon.; Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & I. Dep. of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.; German Center for infection Research, Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Germany., Schlicker V; Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & I. Dep. of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Hergeth J; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon., Stelzl DR; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon.; Department of Urology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Zoleko Manego R; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon.; Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & I. Dep. of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Mombo-Ngoma G; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon.; Department of Implementation Research, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & I. Dep. of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., Eberhardt KA; Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & I. Dep. of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany., McCall MBB; Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Medical Microbiology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands., Adegnika AA; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon.; Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.; German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), partner site Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany., Lell B; Department of Medicine I, Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon., Mordmüller B; Radboud University Medical Center, Department of Medical Microbiology, Nijmegen, The Netherlands., Adegnika S; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon., Ramharter M; Centre de Recherches Médicales de Lambaréné, Lambaréné, Gabon.; Department of Tropical Medicine, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine & I. Dep. of Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.; German Center for infection Research, Partner Site Hamburg-Lübeck-Borstel-Riems, Germany., Budke C; Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, United States of America.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PLoS neglected tropical diseases [PLoS Negl Trop Dis] 2024 Aug 19; Vol. 18 (8), pp. e0012389. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Aug 19 (Print Publication: 2024).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0012389
Abstrakt: Background: Loiasis is a disease of relevance in endemic populations and there has been advocacy for its inclusion on the World Health Organization's neglected tropical diseases list. As loiasis-related healthcare-seeking behaviors and related costs are unknown, we aimed to evaluate these aspects in a population residing in an endemic region in Gabon.
Methods: Data were collected during a community-based, cross-sectional study assessing the disease burden due to loiasis. Diagnostics for microfilaremia were performed and a history of eyeworm was obtained. In addition, a standardized questionnaire about type of healthcare resources and frequency of use, as well as respective associated costs was administered to each participant. Loiasis related healthcare-seeking behaviors were evaluated, and the associated monetary burden was estimated as a secondary outcome of the study.
Findings: Individuals diagnosed with loiasis more frequently reported any healthcare-seeking (OR 1.52 (95%CI: 1.21-1.91)), self-medicating (OR 1.62 (1.26-2.08)), inability to work (OR 1.86 (1.47-2.35)), and consulting with traditional healers (logOdds 1.03 (0.52-1.53)), compared to loiasis negative individuals. The most frequently reported treatment for the eyeworm was traditional herbs. The estimated healthcare associated costs, per positive individual, was US-$ 58 (95% CI: 21-101) per year, which would correspond to 3.5% of the reported mean household income. Extrapolation to the rural population of Gabon (n = 204,000), resulted in an annual monetary burden estimate of US-$ 3,206,000 (1,150,000-5,577,000).
Interpretation: Loiasis patients have demonstrated healthcare needs, often consulted traditional healers, and used traditional treatments for disease specific symptoms. Further, loiasis seems to be associated with substantial direct and indirect costs for individuals and thus may cause a relevant economic burden for endemic populations and economies of affected countries.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2024 Veletzky et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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