On top of all the other problems that measles outbreaks cause, monetary costs can also be quite significant. As the recent outbreak in Utah shows, relatively small outbreaks (in terms of overall numbers) can cost taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars to deal with. The Utah measles outbreak cost $130,000 and 3,000 work hours to contain. At the end 9 people were infected, 184 were put in voluntary quarantine for up to 21 days.
As bad as that is, it pales in comparison to the 2008 Arizona outbreak. That outbreak started when an infected Swiss traveler visited one hospital. By the end 14 people were infected, involving two different hospitals with total costs of almost $800,000. For a detailed description of how that specific outbreak unfolded read this article at Wired.com.
Nine infected in Utah, total cost $130,000. That averages to just about $14,444 per person.
Fourteen infected in Arizona in 2008, total cost $800,000. That averages to just about $57,143 per person.
By contrast, immunizing one child against measles costs less than one US dollar. Given that both the current Utah outbreak and the 2008 Arizona outbreak were started by unvaccinated people importing the disease into the U.S. chances are that a $2 investment in vaccines could have potentially saved us over $900,000 in costs plus thousands of work hours. I’d say that’s an excellent return on investment. Wouldn’t you?
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