Visceral leishmaniasis has become harder to control, because current treatments increasingly fail (like in Nepal with resistance to the drug miltefosine). Meheus shows that combination therapies (the use of multiple drugs) is a cost-effective alternative to the current first-line treatments. This is mainly due to the shorter duration of treatment and the lower cost of the drugs used for combination therapies.

Combination therapies would also alleviate the enormous economic damage the disease causes in families and relieve the workload in hospitals. However, additional efforts are needed to further drop prices of some drugs (like liposomal amphotericin B) and diagnose and treat patients more quickly.

"This disease wrecks patients twice, both physically and financially. The study results offer tools to assist them better, even where the needs are huge and the means limited," said Meheus.

The full study can be accessed here: http://www.itg.be/internet/dl/EconomicAnalysisOfVLControl-FilipMeheus.pdf