Objective: To assess the economic implications of strategies for influenza control among healthy working adults in The Netherlands.
Methods: The economic evaluation was based on a pharmaco-economic model from the societal perspective. This model involves the direct and indirect costs of vaccination or treatment and the direct and indirect savings (averted costs) due to the control strategy. Control strategies comprised treatment with oseltamivir and prevention with the influenza vaccine. Clinical and economic parameter estimates were derived from published literature, databases and expert opinions. Several scenarios for age-groups and employment contracts (full-time versus not) were elaborated in combination with Monte Carlo simulation for probabilistic sensitivity analysis.
Results: Consistently, net cost savings are estimated over the range of age groups and scenarios considered. Net savings are smallest for half-time workers. Incremental analysis indicates that on average prevention renders higher cost savings than treatment.
Conclusion: We found a consistent picture of net cost savings for prevention through vaccination and treatment with oseltamivir of influenza in healthy working adults in The Netherlands.