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| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2012 |
Volume
: 37 | Issue : 2 | Page
: 89-94 |
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Estimating the burden of disease from unsafe injections in India: A cost-benefit assessment of the auto-disable syringe in a country with low blood-borne virus prevalence
Savanna Reid
School of Community Health Sciences, University of Nevada at Las Vegas, 4505 Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas, NV, USA
Correspondence Address:
Savanna Reid
431 Sunburst Dr. Henderson, NV 89002
USA
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/0970-0218.96093
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Background: Unsafe medical injections are a prevalent risk factor for viral hepatitis and HIV in India. Objectives: This review undertakes a cost-benefit assessment of the auto-disable syringe, now being introduced to prevent the spread of hepatitis B virus, hepatitis C virus, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Materials and Methods: The World Health Organization methods for modeling the global burden of disease from unsafe medical injections are reproduced, correcting for the concentrated structure of the HIV epidemic in India. A systematic review of risk factor analyses in India that investigate injection risks is used in the uncertainty analysis. Results: The median population attributable fraction for hepatitis B carriage associated with recent injections is 46%, the median fraction of hepatitis C infections attributed to unsafe medical injections is 38%, and the median fraction of incident HIV infections attributed to medical injections is 12% in India. The modeled incidence of blood-borne viruses suggests that introducing the auto-disable syringe will impose an incremental cost of $46-48 per disability adjusted life year (DALY) averted. The epidemiological evidence suggests that the incremental cost of introducing the auto-disable syringe for all medical injections is between $39 and $79 per DALY averted. Conclusions: The auto-disable syringe is a cost-effective alternative to the reuse of syringes in a country with low prevalence of blood-borne viruses. |
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