Covid cost around 219,000 healthy life years in 2021: RIVM

Covid-19 took by far the most healthy life years of all infectious diseases last year. According to a calculation by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), the disease led to the loss of 218,900 healthy life years for Netherlands residents in one year. This includes premature death and “missed” healthy life years due to illness.

The burden of the disease caused by the coronavirus was slightly higher in 2021 than in 2020 when it cost 207,000 healthy life years.

The various coronavirus measures likely suppressed various other infectious diseases. Influenza, for example, did not make it into the top three in terms of disease burden. There was a modest flu epidemic last winter, but it started late when the far-reaching measures had already been lifted. A disease like whooping cough almost disappeared.

Legionella came second in terms of disease burden, with 6,300 years of healthy life lost. Severe pneumococcal disease took third with 6,200 years in good health, the RIVM estimated.

One infectious disease that evaded all the coronavirus-related hygiene measures and continued to spread was scabies. The researchers have no idea what caused the increase in scabies infections. According to the researchers, scabies must be primarily combated through a “group-oriented approach.” That means, for example, that all residents of a house must participate in treatments and adhere to washing instructions to get rid of the scabies mite, which causes the disease.

“A general practitioner or dermatologist often focuses on the treatment of the individual patient, but given the national increase, this approach appears to be insufficiently effective because too little attention is paid to the treatment of contacts,” said the RIVM. Information provision is also essential, especially for young people with many contacts.