Response to Visceral Leishmaniasis Cases through Active Case Detection and Vector Control in Low-Endemic Hilly Districts of Nepal

ABSTRACT. The visceral leishmaniasis (VL) elimination program in Nepal has largely completed the attack phase and is moving toward consolidation and maintenance phases. New VL foci are, however, appearing in Nepal, and therefore new innovative community-centered strategies need to be developed and tested. We conducted early case detection by an index case–based approach and assessed the feasibility, efficacy, and cost of an intervention for sandfly control through indoor residual spraying (IRS) or insecticidal wall painting (IWP) in new and low-endemic districts Palpa and Surkhet. IRS was performed in 236 households and IWP in 178 households. We screened 1,239 and 596 persons in Palpa and Surkhet, respectively, resulting in the detection of one VL case in Palpa. Both IWP and IRS were well accepted, and the percentage reductions in sandfly density after 1, 9, and 12 months of intervention were 90%, 81%, and 75%, respectively, for IWP and 81%, 59%, and 63% respectively for IRS. The cost per household protected per year was USD 10.3 for IRS and 32.8 for IWP, although over a 2-year period, IWP was more cost-effective than IRS. Active case detection combined with sandfly control through IWP or IRS can support to VL elimination in the consolidation and maintenance phase.