The economic loss due to treatment costs and work loss to individuals with chronic lymphatic filariasis in rural communities of Orissa, India

This paper is based on 1 year round case control study to investigate the economic burden, in terms of treatment costs and loss of work to people affected with chronic lymphatic filariasis in rural communities of Orissa, Eastern India. Around three-fourths of the chronic patients have sought treatment for their condition and spent, on average an amount of INR 396 (approximately US$ 8.7) per year. The major component of the expenditure is the cost of medicines. The data on loss of work time due to chronic condition reveal that the total absenteeism to the work is significantly higher among chronic filariasis patients than controls. The total number of working hours spent per day by patients and controls are 4.94 and 6.06, respectively with a significant difference. The total absenteeism and the total number of working hours per day are influenced significantly by disease condition and other personal characteristics, namely age, sex and family type. The chronic patients lose a total of 68 days of work per year, which is equivalent to 19% of the total working time of the year. The present results show that the chronic conditions of lymphatic filariasis pose considerable burden on the patient, family and community.