London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine

Experts from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine will work with the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative, Médecins Sans Frontières and Mott MacDonald as part of KalaCORE - the Consortium for Control and Elimination of Visceral Leishmaniasis. The consortium has been appointed by the Department for International Development as part of a programme funded by UK aid.

Working over the next four years in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan, KalaCORE will support national eradication efforts and coordinate with control programmes.

Visceral leishmaniasis, also known as kala-azar, causes high fever, substantial weight loss, swelling of the spleen and liver, and anaemia. If left untreated it is almost always fatal. According to the World Health Organisation, there are an estimated 300,000 cases and 20,000 deaths every year.

Professor Simon Croft, who is leading the research for the School, said: "Elimination of visceral leishmaniasis is within our grasp. This is an exciting opportunity to tackle this neglected tropical disease and potentially save thousands of lives every year across Africa and Asia."

The disease is caused by infection with Leishmania parasites, which are spread by the bite of phlebotomine sand flies. Visceral leishmaniasis is associated with malnutrition, population displacement, poor housing, and lack of resources.

In South Asia, where countries are progressing towards elimination, KalaCORE will focus on supporting countries to keep transmission levels low, addressing the remaining challenges such as poor case detection and inappropriate treatment, and building the capacity of local institutions.

In East Africa, where the disease comes in epidemic waves, flourishing amid weak national health infrastructures, mass displacements of non-immune populations, and the HIV epidemic, the main focus will be on treating as many patients as possible, and to pilot and help scale up vector control methods.

In both regions, operational research studies will fill data and knowledge gaps in key areas.