The Economics of Infectious Disease

Infectious diseases once considered vanquished in the developed world now represent a growing challenge to public health care systems. Not only do we face threats from new diseases such as AIDS, MRSA, SARS and Avian Flu, but old scourges such as tuberculosis are returning in drug resistant forms. Food-borne infections are common, encompassing both common bacterial infections that are associated with gastro-enteritis and new diseases that have crossed the species barriers, such as BSE and the resultant new variant CJD. SARS and Avian Flu are the newest threats and have an increasingly high public profile. These diseases present complex and as yet unresolved problems for those involved in the control of infectious disease. Jennifer Roberts and her international team present the contribution economists can make to the management and control of infectious diseases. The book leads the reader through the economic evaluation of specific diseases, chosen to reflect some of the great challenges to those aiming to control infectious disease in both developed and developing countries. It then examines the wider issues involved in the economics of infectious disease; modelling, governance and the control of outbreaks, risk assessment models for food safety, the global perspective and the role of international regulatory co-operation, and the effect on trade. Contagion is an ever-present threat to public safety, particularly high on the international policy agenda in the current climate of fears of bioterrorism and the return of diseases thought eradicated. This introduction to the methods and techniques of economics as applied to infectious diseases will make fascinating reading for those involved from both perspectives, and is a timely contribution to a major issue. Contributors to this volume - Salim Abdulla, Epidemiologist, Ifakara Health Research and Development Centre, and National Malaria Control Programme, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Pauline Allen, Lecturer in Organizational Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Maurice L Barreto, Professor of Public Health Epidemiology, Instituto de Saude Coletiva, Federal University of Bahia, Brazil Mrigesh Bhatia, Lecturer of Health Policy and Course Director, Department of Social Policy, London School of Economics, UK Jean Buzby, Senior Economist, Economic Research Service at the US Department of Agriculture, Washington DC, USA Joanna Coast, Professor of Health Economics, University of Birmingham, UK Paul Coleman, Epidemiologist and Honorary Senior Lecturer, Disease Control & Vector Biology Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Joao G Q Costa, Swiss Tropical Institute, Swiss Centre for International Health, Basel, Switzerland Bronwyn Croxson, Senior Analyst, The Treasury, Wellington, New Zealand Julia Fox-Rushby, Professor of Health Economics, Health Economnics Research Group (HERG), Brunel University, Middlesex, UK Catherine Goodman, Lecturer in Health Economics, Health Policy Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Nicholas Graves, Senior Research Fellow in Health Economics, School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Australia Richard Grieve, Lecturer, Health Services Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Azermeen Jamasi-Pavri. Doctoral Student,. London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Nassor Kikumbih, Health eEconomist and Research Director, Academy for Educational Development, Tanzania Marketing and Communication Project, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Lilani Kumaranayake, Lecturer, HIV Tools Research Group, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Ramanan Laxinarayan, Fellow, Resources for the Future, Washington DC, USA Punam Mangtani, Clinical Senior Lecturer in Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Michael Millar, Consultant Microbiologist and Infection Control Doctor, Barts and the Royal London NHS Trust, UK Anne Mills, Professor of Health Economics, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Godfrey Mubyazi, Research Scientist and Head of Department of Health Policy and Systems Research, National Institute for Medical Research, Centre for Enhancement of Effective Malaria Interventions, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Vasant Narasimhan, Moorstwon, USA Clark Nardinelli, Supervisory Economist, Economic Analysis Team, Food and Drug Administration's Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, Washington DC, USA Tuoyo Okorosobo, Health Economist, Malaria Unit, Regional Office for Africa, World Health Organization, Zimbabwe Ros Plowman, Lecturer, Health Services Research Unit, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Ana Riviere-Cinnamond, Consultant, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, and PhD candidate at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Jennifer Roberts, Emeritus Professor of Economics of Public Health and Director of the Collaborative Centre for Economics of Infectious Disease, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK Tanya Roberts, Senior Economist, Economics Research Service, Washington DC, USA Laura C Rodrigues, Professor of Infectious Diseases Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Andreia C Santos, Research Student, Public Health and Policy Department, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Amishi Shah, Fourth Year Medical Student, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, USA Richard Smith, Reader, Health Economics Group, School of Health, Policy and Practice, University of East Anglia, UK Felix Spinelli, Senior Economist, NRCS - RESSD, Washington DC, USA Fern Terris-Prestholt, Research Fellow, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Peter Vickerman, Lecturer, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Charlotte Watts, Senior Lecturer, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK Diana Weinhold, Senior Lecturer in Development Studies, Development Studies Institute, London School of Economics, UK