Suppression of posttreatment recurrence of experimental visceral Leishmaniasis in T-cell-deficient mice by oral miltefosine.

T-cell-deficient nude mice infected with Leishmania donovani were treated with miltefosine and then given either no treatment or intermittent miltefosine. Intracellular visceral infection recurred in untreated mice but was suppressed by once- or twice-weekly oral administration of miltefosine. Miltefosine may be useful as oral maintenance therapy for T-cell-deficient patients with visceral leishmaniasis.