Economics Faculty Publications Economics 7-10-2017 Congenital Toxoplasmosis in Austria: Prenatal Screening for Prevention is Cost-Saving Andrea-Romana Prusa Medical University of Vienna David C. Kasper Medical University of Vienna Larry Sawers American University See next page for additional authors Follow this and additional works at: https://cupola.gettysburg.edu/econfac Part of the Health Economics Commons, Maternal and Child Health Commons, and the Parasitic Diseases Commons Share feedback about the accessibility of this item. Prusa, Andrea-Romana, David C. Kasper, Larry Sawers, Evelyn Walter, Michael Hayde, and Eileen Stillwaggon. "Congenital toxoplasmosis in Austria: Prenatal screening for prevention is cost-saving." PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases. 11, no. 7 (2017). This open access article is brought to you by The uC pola: Scholarship at Gettysburg College. It has been accepted for inclusion by an authorized administrator of The uC pola. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. Congenital Toxoplasmosis in Austria: Prenatal Screening for Prevention is Cost-Saving Abstract Background: Primary infection of Toxoplasma gondii during pregnancy can be transmitted to the unborn child and may have serious consequences, including retinochoroiditis, hydrocephaly, cerebral calcifications, encephalitis, splenomegaly, hearing loss, blindness, and death. Austria, a country with moderate seroprevalence, instituted mandatory prenatal screening for toxoplasma infection to minimize the effects of congenital transmission. This work compares the societal costs of congenital toxoplasmosis under the Austrian national prenatal screening program with the societal costs that would have occurred in a No-Screening scenario. Methodology/Principal Findings: We retrospectively investigated data from the Austrian Toxoplasmosis Register for birth cohorts from 1992 to 2008, including pediatric long-term follow-up until May 2013.