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International journal of environmental research and public health2022; 19(9); 5541; doi: 10.3390/ijerph19095541

Assessment of the Costs Related to West Nile Virus Monitoring in Lombardy Region (Italy) between 2014 and 2018.

Abstract: In Italy, the West Nile Virus surveillance plan considers a multidisciplinary approach to identify the presence of the virus in the environment (entomological, ornithological, and equine surveillance) and to determine the risk of infections through potentially infected donors (blood and organ donors). The costs associated with the surveillance program for the Lombardy Region between 2014 and 2018 were estimated. The costs of the program were compared with a scenario in which the program was not implemented, requiring individual blood donation nucleic acid amplification tests (NAT) to detect the presence of WNV in human samples throughout the seasonal period of vector presence. Considering the five-year period, the application of the environmental/veterinary surveillance program allowed a reduction in costs incurred in the Lombardy Region of 7.7 million EUR. An integrated surveillance system, including birds, mosquito vectors, and dead-end hosts such as horses and humans, can prevent viral transmission to the human population, as well as anticipate the detection of WNV using NAT in blood and organ donors. The surveillance program within a One Health context has given the possibility to both document the expansion of the endemic area of WNV in northern Italy and avoid most of the NAT-related costs.
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Publication Date: 2022-05-03 PubMed ID: 35564939PubMed Central: PMC9101130DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19095541Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research article assesses and contrasts the costs associated with implementing a surveillance program for the West Nile Virus in Italy’s Lombardy Region from 2014 to 2018, against a scenario without the program in place. The multidisciplinary surveillance program utilizes several detection methods to identify the virus and resulted in a cost reduction of 7.7 million EUR over this five-year period.

Surveillance Methods Utilized

  • The study underscores a multifaceted surveillance protocol established in Italy to identify the presence of the West Nile Virus (WNV). This approach incorporates entomological, ornithological, and equine surveillance.
  • Moreover, the protocol is geared to determine the risk of WNV infections from possibly infected donors, including blood and organ donors. This step is critical in preventing viral transmission to the human population.

Financial Evaluation

  • The core component of the research was to estimate the costs associated with the surveillance program over a span of five years (2014-2018). The researchers included expense elements of the program, such as resources required for various surveillance components, lab operations, and personnel needed.
  • The total expenditure was then compared with a hypothetical scenario where the program was not executed and individual blood donations were screened for WNV presence using nucleic acid amplification tests (NAT) during the seasonal period of vector presence.

Results

  • The study found that the implementation of the environmental/veterinary surveillance program resulted in significant cost savings for the Lombardy Region – specifically, a reduction of 7.7 million EUR over five years.
  • Aside from the financial benefits, the integrated surveillance system— including monitoring birds, mosquito vectors, and dead-end hosts like horses and humans—proved critical in halting viral transmission to humans. It further helped anticipate the detection of WNV among blood and organ donors using NAT.
  • Ultimately, the surveillance program within a One Health framework documented the expansion of the WNV endemic area in northern Italy and circumvented most NAT-linked costs.

Cite This Article

APA
Defilippo F, Dottori M, Lelli D, Chiari M, Cereda D, Farioli M, Chianese R, Cerioli MP, Faccin F, Canziani S, Trogu T, Sozzi E, Moreno A, Lavazza A, Restelli U. (2022). Assessment of the Costs Related to West Nile Virus Monitoring in Lombardy Region (Italy) between 2014 and 2018. Int J Environ Res Public Health, 19(9), 5541. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095541

Publication

International journal of environmental research and public health
ISSN: 1660-4601
NlmUniqueID: 101238455
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 19
Issue: 9
PII: 5541

Researcher Affiliations

Defilippo, Francesco
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Dottori, Michele
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Lelli, Davide
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Chiari, Mario
  • DG Welfare, Regione Lombardia, Piazza Città di Lombardia 1, 20124 Milan, Italy.
Cereda, Danilo
  • DG Welfare, Regione Lombardia, Piazza Città di Lombardia 1, 20124 Milan, Italy.
Farioli, Marco
  • DG Welfare, Regione Lombardia, Piazza Città di Lombardia 1, 20124 Milan, Italy.
Chianese, Rosa
  • SRC Lombardia-Struttura Regionale di Coordinamento per le Attività Trasfusionali della Lombardia, Agenzia Regionale Emergenza Urgenza, Via A. Campanini, 6, 20124 Milano, Italy.
  • Dipartimento Interaziendale di Medicina Trasfusionale ed Ematologia e Servizio di Immunoematologia e Medicina Trasfusionale, ASST dei Sette Laghi, Viale L. Borri, 57, 21100 Varese, Italy.
Cerioli, Monica Pierangela
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Faccin, Francesca
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Canziani, Sabrina
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Trogu, Tiziana
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Sozzi, Enrica
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Moreno, Ana
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Lavazza, Antonio
  • Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Lombardia e Emilia-Romagna, Via Bianchi 7/9, 25124 Brescia, Italy.
Restelli, Umberto
  • Center for Health Economics, Social and Health Care Management, LIUC-Università Cattaneo, Corso Matteotti 22, 21053 Castellanza, Italy.
  • School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, 27 St Andrews Road, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Birds
  • Culicidae
  • Horses
  • Italy / epidemiology
  • Mosquito Vectors
  • One Health
  • West Nile Fever / epidemiology
  • West Nile Fever / veterinary
  • West Nile virus

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
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