Research to support the elimination of visceral leishmaniasis

Overview

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is a fatal disease with an estimated incidence of 500 000 cases per year. Of these, 60% occur in the Indian subcontinent (India, Bangladesh and Nepal), mainly among the poorest population groups living in rural areas. New drugs and diagnostics have created an important new opportunity for improved disease management and even elimination of VL as a public health problem from the Indian subcontinent. In 2005, the health ministers of Bangladesh, India and Nepal signed a Memorandum of Understanding for joint efforts to eliminate VL by the year 2015. To achieve the elimination objectives, substantial progress is needed to increase availability of existing rapid diagnosis and effective therapies and to implement effective vector control.

The overall objective of TDR is to support research to develop and validate cost-effective interventions and strategies for the elimination of VL from the Indian subcontinent. An effective elimination strategy must target both the vector and the human reservoir, and this is reflected in the research supported by TDR as detailed herein. Implementation research supported by TDR in the three countries is also expanding, and the knowledge gained is being integrated into national elimination programmes. The envisioned end-product is the establishment of evidence-based and cost-effective strategies that combine vector control, active case detection and effective diagnostics and treatments. The impact will be the elimination of VL as a public health problem in the Indian subcontinent.