The impact of infection on population health: results of the Ontario burden of infectious diseases study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Evidence-based priority setting is increasingly important for rationally distributing scarce health resources and for guiding future health research. We sought to quantify the contribution of a wide range of infectious diseases to the overall infectious disease burden in a high-income setting.

Methodology/principal findings

We used health-adjusted life years (HALYs), a composite measure comprising premature mortality and reduced functioning due to disease, to estimate the burden of 51 infectious diseases and associated syndromes in Ontario using 2005-2007 data. Deaths were estimated from vital statistics data and disease incidence was estimated from reportable disease, healthcare utilization, and cancer registry data, supplemented by local modeling studies and nat

SUBMITTER: Kwong JC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3433488 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature