Human Rabies in the WHO Southeast Asia Region: Forward Steps for Elimination

Table 3

Cost comparison of human rabies immunoglobulin (HRIG) versus equine rabies immunoglobulin (ERIG) for postexposure prophylaxis (PEP) in southeast Asia over a five-year period.

Activity	HRIG	ERIG
Estimated number of patients taking PEP (millions)	4	4
No. of dog bite cases requiring RIG application (millions)	1	1
Quantity of RIG required per patient (millilitres)	5	5
Quantity of RIG required per year (millions of mLs)	5	5
Cost of human RIG per mL (million US$)	60	3
Cost of human RIG for year (million US$)	300	15
Cost of transportation, storage etc. (million US$)	2	1.25
Total cost of RIG for five years (million US$)	1510	81.25

(RIG costs calculated at current market rates. Transportation and storage costs were estimated at 25% of RIG volume).