Transactions of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene (2007) 101, 840—846 available at www.sciencedirect.com journal homepage: www.elsevierhealth.com/journals/trst Economic burden of neurocysticercosis: results from Peru Yogesh Rajkotia a,* , Andres G. Lescano a,b , Robert H. Gilman a , Christian Cornejo c , Hector H. Garcia d,e , for The Cysticercosis Working Group of Peru a Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Rm 5515, 614 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA b School of Public Health and Management, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Av. Honorio Delgado 430, Urb. Ingenier´ ıa, S.M.P. Lima, Per´ u c Department of Pediatrics, University of Tennessee College of Medicine, 910 Blackford Street, Chattanooga, TN 37403, USA d Department of Microbiology, Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru e Cysticercosis Unit, Instituto de Ciencias Neurologicas, Lima, Peru Av. H. Delgado 430, Urb. Ingenieria, S.M.P. Lima 31, Peru Received 6 August 2006; received in revised form 2 March 2007; accepted 2 March 2007 Available online 15 May 2007 KEYWORDS Neurocysticercosis; Health expenditures; Cost of illness; Economics; Productivity loss; Peru Summary Neurocysticercosis (NCC) is a major cause of neurological morbidity in the develop- ing world. This study aimed to assess the treatment costs and productivity losses associated with NCC in Peru. NCC patients were identified through retrospective chart analysis. Patients meet- ing inclusion criteria were interviewed in order to obtain data on symptom history, treatment costs, productivity losses and health service utilisation patterns. These data were modelled to determine average treatment costs and productivity losses over 2 years. Our findings show that treatment costs and productivity losses consume 54% of an annual minimum wage salary during the first year of treatment and 16% during the second year. Diagnosis (36%) and drug therapy (27%) represent the most expensive healthcare-related costs. These costs are prohibitive for some—–8% of our study sample had no diagnostic tests during their first 6 months of disease, and two-thirds of those who delayed treatment reportedly did so due to their inability to pay. Two-thirds of wage-earners lost their jobs owing to NCC and only 61% were able to re-engage in wage-earning activities. This study highlights the need to expand financial coverage to ensure the poor have access to health services and do not become further impoverished. © 2007 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 410 614 3959; fax: +1 410 510 1284. E-mail address: yrajkoti@jhsph.edu (Y. Rajkotia). 0035-9203/$ — see front matter © 2007 Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.trstmh.2007.03.008