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Volume 9, Number 4—April 2003
Research

Costs of Illness in the 1993 Waterborne Cryptosporidium Outbreak, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Phaedra S. Corso*Comments to Author , Michael H. Kramer*, Kathleen A. Blair†, David G. Addiss*, Jeffrey P. Davis‡, and Anne C. Haddix§
Author affiliations: *Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA; †City of Milwaukee Health Department, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; ‡Wisconsin Division of Public Health, Madison, Wisconsin, USA; §Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

Main Article

Table 1

Parameter estimates for calculating the cost of diarrheal illness during the cryptosporidiosis outbreak, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, 1993

Parameter Mild illnessa Moderate illness Severe illness
% of infected persons with diarrhea
87.99 (6)
10.92 (6)
1.09 (6)
Medical costs



Inpatient healthcare costs



% with hospitalization


100
Cost of hospitalization


$6,312b
Outpatient healthcare costs



% with physician visit

95c
29b
Cost of physician visit

$45d
$45d
% with emergency department visit

5b

Cost of emergency department visit

$224b

Ambulance transport



% of emergency department visit/hospitalization with ambulance transport

4.9b
16.3b
Cost of ambulance transport

$228 (11)c
$228 (11)c
Medication



Self-medication before seeking healthcare



Duration of illness before seeking health care, mean days
4.7e
5.8b
18.4b
% taking medication
30c
30b
29b
Cost of medication
$5.73 (12)c
$5.92 (12)c
$6.74 (12)b
Medication prescribed after seeking healthcare



% taking medication

54b
48b
Cost of medication

$8.91 (12)b
$70.52 (12)b
Recurrent episodes



% with recurrent episodes (and assuming 100% take medication)
21 (7)
21 (7)
21 (7)
Duration of recurrent episodes, mean d
2 (8)
2 (8)
2 (8)
Cost of medication
$2.44 (12)c
$2.44 (12)c
$2.44 (12)c
Productivity losses



Productivity losses for ill persons, mean d
1.3e
3.8e
13.5e
Productivity losses for caregivers, mean d
0.1e
1.3e
3.9c
Earnings lost/d $81 (13) $81 (13) $81 (13)

aReference nos. are in parentheses.
bMedical chart review.
cAuthor assumption.
dCity of Milwaukee Health Department.
eRandom digit dial survey conducted by the City of Milwaukee Health Department.

Main Article

Page created: December 08, 2010
Page updated: December 08, 2010
Page reviewed: December 08, 2010
The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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