Brazil thanks early malaria diagnoses for US$3m savings
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Further evidence of the cost benefits of prompt management of malaria cases was cited this week by the Brazilian health ministry to highlight the importance of early diagnosis. The number of hospitalisations fell by a total of 40,000 during 2002-07, compared with levels expected from previous years, with the introduction of the national malaria programme, said the health ministry. During 1998-2001, annual hospitalisations for malaria averaged almost 19,000. By 2007, these had fallen to just over 6,300, compared with an expected 16,400. The cost savings of these reductions total almost R$6.9m (US$3m). The programme is also reducing significantly the number of infections, according to the health ministry. In Amazonia Legal state alone, 267,000 cases were reported in the first 10 months of 2008, compared with almost 400,000 during the same period the year before.