Tables 4.4 and 4.5 provide estimates of total health care service costs for foodborne gastroenteritis and non-gastroenteritis illnesses respectively.

Total health care costs for gastroenteritis are estimated at $200 million per annum in 2002 prices. Visits to GPs and emergency departments account for about two-thirds of these costs.

Total health care costs for other non-gastroenteritis illnesses are estimated at $22.3 million. Irritable bowel syndrome accounts for about three-quarters of these costs.

Table 4.4 Health care costs of foodborne gastroenteritis ($ million, based on 2002 data and prices)

	Hospital	ED visits	GP visits	Laboratory costs	Pharmacy costs	Total
Males
0–4 years	5.8	2.0	5.6	—(a)	2.1	15.6
5–14 years	2.2	0.4	6.1	—(a)	2.5	11.2
15–64 years	2.1	10.6	16.4	3.4	5.8	38.7
65 years or over	1.6	n.a.	4.0	1.3	0.1	7.0
Total	11.7	13.0	32.1	4.8	10.6	72.1
Females
0–4 years	5.2	13.1	11.4	0.13	1.5	31.4
5–14 years	2.0	9.5	15.1	—(a)	2.2	28.8
15–64 years	2.8	13.8	23.2	3.8	10.9	54.4
65 years or over	3.5	3.8	4.7	—(a)	1.1	13.1
Total	13.5	40.2	54.3	3.9	15.8	127.8
Total	25.2	53.2	86.4	8.7	26.3	199.8

(a) No stool tests were reported for these sex/age groups.

prev page| TOC |next page