Economic costs of Chagas disease in Colombia in 2017: A social perspective

•Chagas disease not only is a clear threat to human health, but also affects the level of family income and economic growth of a country.•Chagas disease imposes a substantial financial burden on healthcare system and society.•Economic cost of illness-related productivity losses is much more significant.•A health policy framework addressing as many of the social determinants of health as possible may be pivotal in containing social costs.•Minimizing the burden of illness is not just the responsibility of the health sector. To quantify the costs of Chagas disease in Colombia from a societal perspective in 2017. A cost-of-illness analysis was carried out using a prevalence-based approach. Costs attributable to Chagas were estimated from a bottom-up strategy, using population attributable fractions. Indirect costs were calculated using the human capital approach. The estimated total cost of diagnosed Chagas disease was US $13.1 million and included $5.7 million in direct medical costs, $1.5 million in direct nonmedical costs, and $5.8 million in indirect costs: absenteeism ($2.2 million), presenteeism ($3.1 million), and premature deaths ($515228). On average, people diagnosed with Chagas disease incurred $594 in medical expenses, and more than half of that expense was directly attributable to Chagas. The annual cost to society for a person with chronic Chagas disease was $4226. Chagas disease imposes a substantial financial burden on healthcare system and society. Economic cost of illness-related productivity losses is much more significant. Our research suggests that a health policy framework addressing as many of the social determinants of health as possible may be pivotal in containing social costs. Therefore, reducing this burden is not only the responsibility of the health system.