Health Canada - CCDR Vol. Such information is not exact, but it does assist in establishing the epidemiologic profile of this disease. Physician billing and hospital discharge data also provide valuable information about the distribution of chickenpox and herpes zoster and the economic burden of these diseases.
Canadian data related to the costs of varicella-zoster virus disease are otherwise scarce.
Similar studies are being conducted in Canada. This review examines direct costs attributed to chickenpox and herpes zoster in B.C. from 1992 to 1996. Methods Direct costs attributed to chickenpox and herpes zoster were estimated for the years that complete data were available, i.e. calendar years 1992 to 1996. Costs for cases hospitalized also include hospital deaths attributed to chickenpox and herpes zoster. Average annual deaths in hospital were two persons.