The cost of tuberculosis in Cyprus in 2009

There has been a major resurgence of tuberculosis (TB) in recent years worldwide. In Cyprus the tuberculin index is below 1%, in spite of an increase in the incidence of TB, particularly among foreign residents. The purpose of this study, the first of its kind in Cyprus, was to calculate the total cost of TB in Cyprus in the year 2009. The calculation was based on complete, detailed data on patients with TB collected from the District of Nicosia, which were then used to extrapolate the cost of TB for the whole of Cyprus. The patients were divided into 5 groups: those with active and those with latent disease diagnosed in 2009, those with active and those with latent disease diagnosed in 2008 who continued treatment in 2009, and contacts in the patients' close environment who were investigated for TB in 2009. The patient records were studied and cost assessment was made for all tests, hospital days and medication prescribed for each patient for the year 2009. The cost assessment was based on Cyprus Government tariffs used for non-beneficiaries of the system. The total cost for the whole of Cyprus was estimated at €661.937.52, of which €330,768.57 was incurred by the District of Nicosia. The highest costs were generated by those patients with active disease, a mean cost of €6,479.35 per patient from the long-term care programmes within the directly observed treatment short course (DOTS) framework. For the second most costly group, the patients with latent TB, the mean annual cost per patient was €1,171.77. According to the findings of this study the cost of TB in Cyprus closely resembles that in other developed countries.