Radhika Tampi, 5th year doctoral student in Health Policy, and CHDS faculty Nicolas Menzies, published a recent study evaluating the cost-effectiveness of a modified reactive case detection strategy for malaria in Infectious Diseases of Poverty. This strategy, known as the 1,7-malaria reactive community-based testing and response (1,7-mRCTR) intervention, aims to reduce malaria prevalence in moderate-to-high transmission areas by combining passive case detection with targeted community-based screening and treatment in areas with high malaria incidence. Triggered by reported malaria cases, local health workers rapidly deploy diagnostic testing and treatment within affected communities to reduce disease prevalence and transmission.
This analysis was conducted alongside an impact evaluation of an empirical trial conducted in Tanzania, led by Professor of Health Economics at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Jessica Cohen. To conduct the CEA, authors utilized empirical data and an open-source microsimulation model (OpenMalaria) to estimate the long-term impact of the intervention on morbidity, in terms of disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) and mortality. They found that the 1,7-mRCTR intervention was cost-effective at a willingness pay threshold of $417 per DALY averted, suggesting that modified reactive case detection strategies may be both impactful and cost-effective when deployed in moderate-to-high malaria transmission settings. This study was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Learn more: Read the article, The 1,7-Malaria Reactive Community-Based Testing and Response (1,7-mRCTR) Approach in Tanzania: A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis
Read more: Risk Factors Underlying Disparities in TB Outcomes
Read more: Potential Benefit of New TB Treatment Regimens