Emerging Infectious Diseases

Emerging infectious diseases carried through water cost Americans $500 million each year. Water related diseases such as Legionnaires’ disease are rising each year. Hospitalizations caused from the spread of disease through water are an increasing risk to Americans and to the health care system.  Extended hospitalizations can result from waterborne disease. These are more than nuisance hospitalizations, they can result in severe medical conditions and even death.

Hospitalizations for three common waterborne diseases cost the healthcare system as much as $539 million annually, according to research presented at the International Conference on Emerging Infectious Diseases, July 2010.

“These cost data highlight that water-related diseases pose not only a physical burden to the thousands of people sickened by them each year, but also a substantial burden in healthcare costs, including direct government payments through Medicare and Medicaid,” says Michael Beach of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an author of the study.

Currently, there are no well-documented data on the total healthcare costs associated with all waterborne diseases. However, using data from a large insurance claims database between 2004 and 2007, Beach and his colleagues estimated the hospitalization cost of three common waterborne diseases in the United States: Legionnaires’ disease, cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis. For each case of disease, they calculated the cost paid by the insurer, the out-of-pocket cost to the patient, and the total amount paid.

Total estimated costs for hospitalization for the three diseases was $154 to $539 million, including $44 to $147 million in direct government payments for Medicare and Medicaid. Estimated annual costs for the individual diseases were: giardiasis, $16 to $63 million; cryptosporidiosis, $37 to $145 million; and Legionnaires’ disease, $101 to $321 million.

Inpatient hospitalization costs per case averaged more than $34,000 for Legionnaires’ disease, approximately $9,000 for giardiasis and more than $21,000 for cryptosporidiosis.

“When people think about these diseases, they usually think of a simple case of diarrhea, which is a nuisance but quickly goes away. However, these infections can cause severe illness that often result in hospital stays of more than a week, which can quickly drive up healthcare costs,” Beach says.

Other symptoms can include rashes, eye and ear infections, and respiratory or neurological symptoms, and can even be fatal.

Modest investments in preventing these diseases could lead to reduced disease and significant healthcare cost savings, Beach says. Some examples of possible, low-cost interventions include public education campaigns, appropriate maintenance of building water systems, and regular inspection of pools and other recreational water facilities.;

Emerging infectious diseases, especially waterborne diseases are on the rise. Water quality, water conservation and consumption habits are contributing to the rising number of incidents of disease outbreaks.  Public health and safety risks are increasing with the number of incidents being reported.  Health risks to children are an especially troubling component of these increasing disease outbreaks.  Better infection control practices are being evaluated they may help reduce these risks and reduce the consequences of future outbreaks.