Economic costs of endemic non‐filarial elephantiasis in Wolaita Zone, Ethiopia

Abstract

Summarybackground Endemic non-filarial elephantiasis or podoconiosis is a chronic and debilitating geochemical disease occurring in individuals exposed to red clay soil derived from alkalic volcanic rock. It is a major public health problem in countries in tropical Africa, Central America and North India.objective To estimate the direct and the average productivity cost attributable to podoconiosis, and to compare the average productivity time of podoconiosis patients with non-patients.methods Matched comparative cross sectional survey involving 702 study subjects (patients and nonpatients) supplemented by interviews with key informants in Wolaita Zone, southern Ethiopia.results Total direct costs of podoconiosis amounted to the equivalent of US$ 143 per patient per year. The total productivity loss for a patient amounted to 45% of the total working days per year, causing a monetary loss equivalent to US$ 63. In Wolaita zone, the overall cost of podoconiosis exceeds US$ 16 million per year.conclusions Podoconiosis has enormous economic impact in affected areas. Simple preventive measures (such as use of robust footwear) must be promoted by health policy makers.keywords podoconiosis, direct cost, human capital approach, prevalence-based model, productivity cost, Ethiopia

Estimating the number of cases of podoconiosis in Ethiopia using geostatistical methods

“…For example, a 2007 study conducted in SNNP estimated the prevalence of podoconiosis in Wolayita zone to be 5.46% (approximately 81,000 cases) ( Desta et al , 2003; Tekola et al , 2006). Our model estimates that 72,723 people are predicted to be suffering from podoconiosis in Wolayita zone, with the 2007 estimate falling within the 95% confidence interval of our prediction.…”

Podoconiosis and Soil-Transmitted Helminths (STHs): Double burden of Neglected Tropical Diseases in Wolaita zone, Rural Southern Ethiopia.

“…The MFTPA provides treatment to approximately 30,000 podoconiosis patients per year, through a carefully structured system of 15 'outreach clinics'. This infrastructure has been utilized successfully for previous research studies, and the investigators have a long history of research collaboration with the MFTPA [4,6,8,9]. The 'outreach clinics' at which cases were identified are situated between 1300 and 2050 meters above sea level, altitudes at which lymphatic filariasis would be uncommon.…”

“…Despite its public health significance in Ethiopia, there is little current information on podoconiosis distribution, though maps from the 1970s [Price, 1976] suggest that areas in which podoconiosis has been documented may overlap with areas of high STH prevalence [7]. Like STH infection, podoconiosis occurs in barefoot populations in areas of great poverty where subsistence farming is the main occupation [8,9].…”

The linkage between geological setting and human health in Ethiopia: a preliminary geo-environmental-health model

“…However previous reports (Price, 1974;1976) and field observation by the author shows that the hot spots are located in Wolaita area, Dimbidolo, Wolegga, Upper Ghibe valley, and the south-western midland extending from southern Ethiopia to Metema in the north. Elephantiasis is common in red soil covered areas of Woinadega climate and the incidence drops significantly as one moves out of the red soil covered areas (Fasil Tekola, 2005).…”