The bitter pill. Pt. 1, Kala-azar in Bihar.

Isabel Hilton goes 'north of the Ganges' to a poor village in Bihar where houses are made of straw, and villagers live close to their cattle. Visceral leishmaniasis, or kala-azar, known in British times as 'Dum Dum fever', is transferred from cattle to humans by sandflies. Kala-azar has developed resistance to the drugs developed in British times, but because the people are too poor to pay for medicine there is little motivation for drug companies to develop new drugs. It is arguable whether disease needs to be tackled first so people are healthy enough to work, or, as Sir Richard Sykes says, clean water and public health measures should come first. Only 1% of new drugs are for tropical diseases?