Cost-effectiveness of a canine visceral leishmaniasis control program in Brazil based on insecticide-impregnated collars

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Tália Machado de Assis, André Luís Ferreira de Azeredo-da-Silva, Gláucia Cota, Marília Fonseca Rocha, Guilherme Loureiro Werneck
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2020
• Subjects: Collars; Visceral leishmaniasis; Cost-effectiveness; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0680-2020; https://doaj.org/article/82340f8edcca4599a50f8c3f8e79942a

Abstract INTRODUCTION: The use of insecticide-impregnated dog collars is a potentially useful tool for the control of visceral leishmaniasis. The objective of the present study was to perform a cost-effectiveness analysis of a program based on insecticide-impregnated collars compared to traditional visceral leishmaniasis control strategies used in Brazil. METHODS: A cost-effectiveness analysis was performed from the perspective of the Unified Health System, using data from the Visceral Leishmaniasis Control Program implemented in the municipality of Montes Claros, Minas Gerais. The direct costs of the three control strategies, which were 1) canine infection screening + sacrifice, 2) residual chemical control of the vector, and 3) insecticide-impregnated dog collars (Scalibor®), were evaluated over the two-year study period. RESULTS: The total cost of the program in the area subjected to the traditional control strategies (strategies 1 and 2; control area) was R$ 1,551,699.80, and in the area subjected to all three control strategies (intervention area), it was R$ 1,898,190.16. The collar program was considered highly cost-effective at preventing canine visceral leishmaniasis (incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of approximately R$ 578 per avoided dog sacrifice). CONCLUSIONS: These results provide support for the decision by the Brazilian Ministry of Health in 2019 to provide insecticide-impregnated collars for the control of canine visceral leishmaniasis in a pilot project.