<p>The essay investigates the economic burden of skin, soft tissue, bone and lung infections in Sweden 2003. The cost-of-illness method, based on the human capital theory, is used in the estimation. A prevalence approach and a top-down method were chosen for direct as well as indirect costs. Also there is a discussion concerning health economic aspects of antibiotic resistance and evidence of the increasing costs because of it. The lack of data leads to a result within a large interval of uncertainty; the direct costs are estimated to 1 072 million SEK and indirect costs are estimated to 4 655 million SEK.</p>

The essay investigates the economic burden of skin, soft tissue, bone and lung infections in Sweden 2003. The cost-of-illness method, based on the human capital theory, is used in the estimation. A prevalence approach and a top-down method were chosen for direct as well as indirect costs. Also there is a discussion concerning health economic aspects of antibiotic resistance and evidence of the increasing costs because of it. The lack of data leads to a result within a large interval of uncertainty; the direct costs are estimated to 1 072 million SEK and indirect costs are estimated to 4 655 million SEK.