Effectiveness and safety of short course liposomal amphotericin B (AmBisome) as first line treatment for visceral leishmaniasis in Bangladesh.

Background: Bangladesh is one of the endemic countries for Visceral Leishmaniasis (VL). Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ran a VL treatment clinic in the most endemic district (Fulbaria) between 2010 and 2013 using a semi-ambulatory regimen for primary VL of 15 mg/kg Liposomal Amphotericin-B (AmBisome) in three equal doses of 5 mg/kg. The main objective of this study was to analyze the effectiveness and safety of this regimen after a 12 month follow-up period by retrospective analysis of routinely collected program data.