PIN31 the Epidemiology and Cost of Dengue Disease in Thailand: A Systematic Literature Review

Dengue is a public health concern in tropical and subtropical regions, that is endemic in Thailand and reported in all four regions: Northern, Central, North-Eastern and Southern. This study aimed to systematically review published and publicly available data on the epidemiology and costs associated with dengue to better characterize the burden of dengue in Thailand and to ascertain the most robust data to paramaterise cost-effectiveness evaluations for dengue in Thailand. Two separate ccomprehensive electronic searches for epidemiology and costs were conducted using Embase, Medline and Evidence Based Medicines Review Database. Epidemiology articles published from 2011-2019 and cost articles published from 2009-2019 in English and Thai were included. Reports from the National Ministry of Public Health and grey literature sources from the same time periods were also reviewed. Following the PICO process, articles reporting incidence, seroprevalence, serotype distribution, expansion factor as well as direct and indirect costs were included. NIH and NHS tools were used to assess the quality of studies. 30 published articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria. 13 reported dengue incidence with variation by age and region. The highest incidence was observed in individuals under 14 years (203.7/100,000 in 2015). No national seroprevalence survey was identified however 11 regional/provincial cross-sectional studies of dengue seroprevalence were retrieved. 13 studies reported serotype distribution with circulating serotypes varying by year and region. 2 studies reported expansion factor data. 4 studies reported cost of illness data for three Thai provinces; with most studies reporting direct medical and non-medical costs and indirect costs. Heterogeneity in methodological approaches for published epidemiological articles make it challenging to compare between studies. Evidence on the cost of dengue is limited, nevertheless the data collected in this review can be used to inform researchers choice of appropriate model parameters for future dengue virus health economic modelling.