A Cost of Illness Study of Saudi Healthcare System Spending on Quarantining Patients with Monkeypox Virus

Abstract

Abstract Quarantine is a popular public health intervention often used to curb pandemics involving infectious diseases that threaten to spread across a population. However, the economic implications of enforcing quarantine have sparked debate on its justifiability, particularly with less severe infectious viruses. This research seeks to estimate the direct and indirect costs needed to set up a quarantine facility to curb the spread of the Monkey Pox virus. To do so, the study simulates a quarantine facility housing 100 Monkey Pox virus patients in Saudi Arabia for the incubation period (14 days). The direct costs include accommodation expenses and treatment costs. On the other hand, the indirect costs of implementing a quarantine are measured in terms of lost productivity after the infected population fails to attend work. The direct and indirect costs of the quarantine were almost similar, $152,500 and $129,500, respectively. However, most of the direct costs ($150,000) include accommodation expenses. Hence, if a patient were to self-isolate at home, the indirect costs of quarantine would by far surpass the direct costs. Thus, the study concludes that enforcing quarantine would adversely affect the economy due to job absenteeism. Hence, considering that the Monkey Pox virus poses a low risk to the public and can be cured with no or affordable prescriptions, other strategies such as mass vaccinations, remote working, and routine hygiene practices should instead be used to tame the spread of the virus.