Human African trypanosomiasis prevention, treatment and control costs: a systematic review

Summary

The control and eventual elimination of human African trypanosomiasis (HAT) requires the expansion of current control and surveillance activities. A systematic review of the published literature on the costs of HAT prevention, treatment and control, in addition to the economic burden, was conducted. All studies that contained primary or secondary data on costs of prevention, treatment and control were considered, resulting in the inclusion of 42 papers. The geographically focal nature of the disease and a lack of standardisation in the cost data limit the usefulness of the available information for making generalisations across diverse settings. More recent information on the costs of treatment and control interventions for HAT is needed to provide accurate information for analyses and planning. The cost information contained herein can be used to inform rational decision making in control and elimination programmes, and to assess potential synergies with existing vector-borne disease control programmes, but programmes would benefit significantly from new cost data collection.