Economic evaluation of a two-strain Hepatitis C vaccination model in Bangladesh using optimal control technique

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, including in Bangladesh. Although the Ministry of Health in Bangladesh is implementing its nationwide HCV control policies, more specific and cost-effective interventions are needed to control HCV. In this study, we developed a two-strain HCV vaccination model to explore the dynamics of HCV infection transmission in Bangladesh. We calibrated the model with the number of HCV cases in Bangladesh to estimate some setting-specific parameters. We also derived the basic reproduction numbers (R01 and R02) and performed contour plots to find the most significant parameters and found that the transmission rate had the largest impact on HCV dynamics. We evaluated the cost-effectiveness of three basic control strategies: transmission control, vaccination, and treatment, all within the optimal control context. Our findings suggested that a triple control strategy combining transmission control, vaccination, and treatment is the most cost-effective way to reduce the burden of HCV. Our finding also indicated that the transmission control strategy is the most cost-effective for the single intervention strategies compared to vaccination and treatment. Alternative programmes can be adopted to curb HCV, depending on the availability of resources and policymakers' decisions.