Economic analysis of Malaria control for migrant workers in eastern Thailand

• Published in: Southeast Asian journal of tropical medicine and public health Vol. 24; no. 2; pp. 216 - 220
• Main Authors: KAMOLRATANAKUL, P, DHANAMUN, B, PRASITTISUK, C, GRISSO, J. A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bangkok Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization, Regional Tropical Medicine and Public Health Network 01.06.1993
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cost-Benefit Analysis; Costs and Cost Analysis; Double-Blind Method; General aspects; Humans; Malaria, Falciparum - economics; Malaria, Falciparum - prevention & control; Medical sciences; Pilot Projects; Planification. Prevention (methods). Intervention. Evaluation; Primary Prevention - economics; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Thailand; Transients and Migrants; Tropical medicine; Thailand; Asia; Human; Protozoa; Protozoal disease; Insecticide; Malaria; Seasonal work; Pesticides; Parasitosis; Infection; Prevention; Impregnation; Plasmodium falciparum; Randomization; Efficiency; Double blind study; Economic aspect; Sporozoa; Bed-net
• ISSN: 0125-1562

A randomized, double-blind field trial was carried out to compare the economic impact of permethrin-treated nets with that of untreated nets as a method of malaria control. The study was conducted in 261 long-term migrant workers and 138 seasonal agricultural migrant workers in the eastern rural areas known to be highly endemic for multidrug-resistant Plasmodium falciparum infection. One hundred and twenty-six longterm migrants and 59 seasonal migrants used treated nets, while 135 and 79, respectively, used untreated nets. The impregnated-nets program was cost-saving as well as offering improved effectiveness. The net benefit of using a treated net was US$1.17 per worker from the Malaria Division's perspective and US$1.61 per worker from the worker viewpoint. The use of impregnated nets with large-scale primary health care programs likely will be the most cost-effective and cost-beneficial method for controlling malaria in eastern Thailand.