What Does a Measles Case Cost?

Most people know that measles is a highly infectious, vaccine-preventable viral disease.

But, what are the actual costs related to a single measles case in the USA?

This Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report highlights the potential public health costs related to measles in local communities.

These CDC researchers reported the average cost of a single measles case could reach $68,000.

This new estimate accounts for personnel time, vaccination, postexposure prophylaxis, and lab costs.

Previous published cost estimates for a measles case ranged from $5,655 to $181,679. 

This research team said clinician failure to recognize measles symptoms early on serves as a reminder that healthcare providers might not be familiar with clinical measles, or aware of the risk from international travel.

In the USA, measles outbreaks typically occur when a traveler to a country with endemic measles transmission develops measles and the virus spreads in an undervaccinated community.

The CDC recommends that all U.S. international travelers be immunized for measles before departure in order to limit the importation of the disease into the U.S.

A recent study found that adult travelers who presented for pre-travel consultation, 16 percent met the criteria for getting a measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination.

But fewer than 50 percent of these travelers were vaccinated.

“Your pharmacist is a great resource, so I encourage everyone to reach out to them if you have travel vaccination questions,’ said Rannon Ching, Pharm.D, a vaccine specialist at Tarrytown Pharmacy.

“Getting immunized goes a long way to eliminate measles when returning from abroad,” said Ching.

This interactive map highlights global outbreaks of measles, mumps, rubella, polio, and whooping cough from 2008-2017. These diseases are easily prevented by vaccines.

Additionally, when traveling to Europe, the diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, varicella (chickenpox), polio, and influenza vaccines are recommended by the CDC.

The CDC Vaccine Price List provides the private sector vaccine prices for general information.

Most pharmacies offer the MMR vaccine, and vaccine discounts can be found at this webpage.

No conflicts of interest were reported by this CDC research team. The corresponding author: Grace Marx, [email protected], 720-200-1683.