Background: Current estimates of the economic burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are needed for policymakers to evaluate adult RSV vaccination strategies.
Methods: A cost-of-illness model was developed to estimate the annual societal burden of RSV in US adults aged ≥60 years. Additional analyses were conducted to estimate the burden of hospitalized RSV in all adults aged 50-59 years and in adults aged 18-49 years with potential RSV risk factors.
Results: Among US adults aged ≥60 years, the model estimated 4.0 million annual RSV cases (95% UI, 2.7-5.6 million) and an annual economic burden of $6.6 billion (95% UI, $3.1-$12.9 billion; direct medical costs, $2.9 billion; indirect costs, $3.7 billion). The 4% of RSV cases that were hospitalized contributed to 94% of direct medical costs. Additional analyses estimated $422 million in annual hospitalization costs among all adults aged 50-59 years. Among adults aged 18-49 years with RSV risk factors, annual per capita burden was highest among people with congestive heart failure at $51,100 per 1000 people.
Discussion: The economic burden of RSV is substantial among adults aged ≥50 years, and among adults aged 18-49 years with RSV risk factors, underscoring the need for preventive interventions for these populations.
Keywords: adults; burden of disease; cost of illness; high-risk adults; respiratory syncytial virus.
© The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Infectious Diseases Society of America.