Production and delivery costs of the infection-and-treatment vaccine against East Coast fever

A.W. Mukhebi, S.P. Morzaria, B.D. Perry, T.T. Dolan and R.A.I. Norval

International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases
P.O. Box 30709
Nairobi, Kenya

A complete report of the estimation procedure, Immunization against East Coast Fever: Production and Delivery Costs of the Infection-and-Treatment Method, by A.W. Mukhebi, S.P. Morzaria, B.D. Perry, T.T. Dolan and R.A.I. Norval, is in preparation and will be published by the International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases.

The infection-and-treatment method of immunization against Theileria parva has been tested in several field trials in different countries in East and Southern Africa, but no comprehensive assessment of its cost has been made. Radley (1981) estimated that it could cost US$2.51 to immunize one animal, $0.01 being the cost of producing one immunizing dose of the vaccine and $2.50 the cost of buying the long-acting tetracycline used for treatment. It was estimated (Irvin, 1985) that in Malawi it costs between $4 and $5 to immunize one animal, $0.10 being the cost of producing one dose of the stabilate and the balance being the cost of the long-acting tetracycline. Kiltz (1984) estimated the cost of immunizing one animal to be about $20 in Burundi. These figures are estimates only: they do not take into account all cost components.

This paper summarizes the results of a steady conducted in Kenya in 1988 on the best method for assessing the cost to a government of producing and delivering the infection-and-treatment vaccine in the field.

The costs of developing and delivering the vaccine were divided into five parts: isolation of immunizing stocks, in vivo characterization of laboratory stocks, in vitro characterization of laboratory stocks, preparation of bulk stabilate and vaccine delivery and monitoring. Costs were identified and estimated for each of these. Costs were estimated assuming a planning period of 30 years and an immunization capacity of 100000 cattle per year.

Costs were grouped under capital or operating expenditures and were calculated in local and foreign currencies. The total cost of the method was finally expressed as the cost of immunization per animal. The cost of vaccine production was expressed as the cost per dose produced. A sensitivity analysis was made to provide probable ranges for the per-animal and per-dose costs.

The total cost of the method to the government over a 30-year period amounted to Kenya shillings (Kshs.) 118.7 million or $7.0 million (Table 1). Of this, capital costs were Kshs.12.7 ($0.7) and operating costs were Kshs.95.2 ($5.6) million. A 10% contingency of Kshs.10.8 ($0.6) million was added to the capital and operating costs to account for unforeseen costs. The cost that would be paid in local currency is Kshs.29.2 ($1.7) million, or 25% of the total; the cost to be paid in foreign currency is Kshs.89.5 ($5.3) million, or 75%.

Table 1. Cost of East Coast fever control by the infection-and-treatment method per animal immunized and per dose of vaccine based on Kenya circumstances, 1988

Item	Total cost over a 30-year period
Capital costs	Kshs	12699379
Operating costs	Kshs	95229502
Total capital and operating costs	Kshs	10792881
10% contingency	Kshs	10792888
Total costa	Kshs	118721769
Less remaining value of capital itemsb	Kshs	1675355
Net total cost	Kshs	117046414
No. of cattle immunizedc		2900000
Cost per animal	Kshs	40.36
Cost per animald	US$	2.37
Net total cost	Kshs	117046414
Less field immunization coste	Kshs	68802500
Less 75% operating transport costf	Kshs	1783500
Less 10% of 75% operating transport cost	Kshs	178350
Net vaccine production cost	Kshs	46282064
No. of vaccine doses producedg		3045000
Cost per dose	Kshs	15.20
Cost per dosed	US$	0.89

^a Total cost from study calculations.
^b Remaining capital value at end of year 30.
^c Assumed as: 25,000 animals in year 175000 animals in year 2, and 100000 animals per year in years 3-30.
^d Exchange rate in January 1988: Kshs.17.00 to US$1.00.
^e Field immunization cost includes syringes, needles and antibiotics and excludes transport
^f Operating transport cost for field studies, vaccine delivery and monitoring; 75% for vaccine delivery.
^g Assumed 5% more than number of cattle immunized above.

For the 30-year planning period, it was assumed 2.9 million cattle would be immunized. The cost of immunization per animal over the animal's life-time was estimated to be Kshs.40.36 ($2.37), with a range of Kshs.36.31-50.45 ($2.14-2.97). The cost of vaccine production per dose was estimated at Kshs.15.20 ($0.89), with a range of Kshs.7.62-20.07 ($0.45-1.l8).

The cost of immunization to the livestock producer, assuming that the producer buys the vaccine from the government and that it is delivered at cost, would be the cost of taking the animal to and from the place of immunization. Such cost, whether an opportunity cost of family labour or a cash cost of hired labour, was not included in the above calculations. To assess the cost effectiveness of the infection-and-treatment method, the above costs of immunization plus the producer's labour cost and the cost of strategic acaricidal applications against ticks and tick-borne diseases should be compared to the costs of controlling ticks and tick-borne diseases by applying acaricides and using chemotherapeutic drugs.

REFERENCES

Irvin, A.D., ed. (1985). Immunization against Theileriosis in Africa: Proceedings of a Workshop Held in Nairobi, 1-5 October 1984. Nairobi: International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases pp. 12-15.

Kiltz, H.H. (1984). Theileriosis in Burundi. In: Irvin, A.D., ed. Immunization against Theileriosis in Africa: Proceedings of a Workshop Held in Nairobi, 1-5 October 1984. Nairobi: International Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases, pp. 12-15.

Radley, D.E. (1981). Infection and treatment method of immunization against theileriosis. In: Irvin, A.D., Cunningham, M.P. and Young, A.S., eds. Advances in the Control of Theileriosis: Proceedings of an International Conference Held at the international Laboratory for Research on Animal Diseases, Nairobi, 9-13 February 1981. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, pp. 227-237.