Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz
Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Fiocruz
ISSN: 1678-8060 EISSN: 1678-8060
Vol. 101, Num. s1, 2006, pp. 9-11
Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz - Vol.101(Suppl. I) October 2006
Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, Vol. 101,Suppl.
I, October
,2006, pp. 9-11
Twenty years of the Schistosomiasis Programme
at Fiocruz
Naftale Katz
Laboratório de Esquistossomose,
Centro de Pesquisas René-Rachou
Code Number: oc06161
Initially, I wish to express my sincere appreciation for the
opportunity to give this talk, for two reasons. First of all, because talking
to you in this wonderful baroque church is a privilege. This was possible for
me only due to the Ecumenical Council II, which was held on the 1960s, therefore
only a few decades ago, convoked by the eminent Pope Johannes XXIII of memorable
remembrance. Secondly, because it is with great pleasure that I speak after
another important "Pope": Dr. Lobato Paraense, who is admired by
all of us, worthy of respect, applauded, and copied. His solid scientific formation
and the accuracy he considers the scientific subjects, can explain why his
works have so much contributed for Malacology to which he is really the Pope.
Therefore, I would like to thank Dr Omar dos Santos Carvalho,
President of this Symposium, for this unique opportunity, which could be only
offered to me by a friend and colleague of so many years. To Dr Omar must be
credited a great part of the success attained by the Schistosomiasis Programme
at Fiocruz.
"Dear Colleague
It is our pleasure to welcome you at the I Meeting on Schistosomiasis
of the Researchers of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. In order to better explain
what gave rise to this meeting, we think that a report, even though a succinct
one, is necessary.
On October 1985, the Vice-President of Researches of the Oswaldo
Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), Dr Carlos M Morel, received a letter from Dr KE
Mott, Head of the Program of Parasitic Diseases (schistosomiasis and other
infections by trematodes), from the World Health Organization, suggesting that
Fiocruz should be appointed a "WHO Collaborating Center for Basic and
Applied Research on Schistosomiasis", and in order to support some activity
related to the project the sum of US$ 2,000 would be at Fiocruz disposal.
After the necessary arrangements, the project "Research
and Training in Schistosomiasis" (TDR/WHO) was accepted and approved.
On April 1986, Dr Morel delegated authority to the signatory of this report
to undertake the task of "coordination and distribution of resources among
the possible participant laboratories, definition of the prioritary goals and
destination of the financial support, as well as the elaboration of a final
report addressed to WHO".
After talking with various researchers, it was quite clear
the need for a better knowledge about what has been carried out in the field
of schistosomiasis, at Fiocruz. The lack of contact among the different research
centers or even among the various laboratories at the Institute Oswlado Cruz
is a lacuna that must be fulfilled.
On the other hand, the scientific policy to be followed at
Fiocruz deserves to be discussed, and suggestions must be addressed to the
Vice-Presidency of Researchs. For this purpose, we organized this meeting,
and we all must work hard, since we have a term of only a day and a half to
present several projects, to discuss then and the conclusions.
I would like to acknowledge Dr Morel for reposing considerable
trust on me. I consider myself honoured by his attention, as well as by an
additional financial support at our disposal. I am also grateful to Dr Omar
dos Santos Carvalho, dedicated Secretary, who contributed so much to the accomplishment
of this meeting, as well as to the researchers who readily accepted our invitation
to participate in this meeting of so short-duration, but hopefully very fruitful.
Last, but not the least, I wish to express my appreciation
to the World Health Organization for supporting this meeting, and also for
the special deference choosing Fiocruz as one of its collaboration centers.
Naftale Katz Laboratório de Esquistossomose,
Centro de Pesquisas René-Rachou
Belo Horizonte, 11 September 1986".
Afterwards, in 1987, the International Symposium on Schistosomiasis
was held in Rio de Janeiro, simultaneously with the I National Meeting on Schistosomiasis,
by decision of all researchers and guidance of Drs Miriam Tendler, Henrique
Leonel Lenzi, Pedro Juberg, and Delir Corrêa Gomes.
It is interesting to note that this International Symposium
was not mentioned as the first one, contrary to the I National Meeting, since
we did not know whether we would be able to promote another one in the near
future. Today we have already organized ten international symposia, without
interruption, with a great and crescent participation of Brazilian and foreign
researchers.
At the II Meeting of Researchers from Fiocruz, which was held
on May 1989, the three regional centers (Research Center Aggeu Magalhães,
in Recife; Research Center Gonçalo Muniz, in Salvador; Research Center
René-Rachou, in Belo Horizonte) and the Institute Oswaldo Cruz/National
School of Public Health, in Rio de Janeiro, had already the credentials as "WHO
Collaboration Center for Research and Control of Schistosomiasis" of the
World Health Organization. It must be emphasized that Fiocruz is the unique
Institution in the whole world that received the title of "WHO Collaboration
Center" for its four research centers.
There were 36 researchers from Fiocruz dedicated to schistosomiasis
who participated in that meeting. At that occasion was created the Schistosomiasis
Programme, with the following objectives:
to define the exact function of the WHO Collaboration Centers,
as well as to contribute for a better national and international technical
cooperation in the area of schistosomiasis, providing information, services,
and advice, giving research support and preparing human resources as
well. The Collaboration Centers must be seen as an important channel for
information,
experience, and knowledge exchanges among the developing countries and
to stimulate the integration process of various national activities;
to propitiate a better interchange among the researchers
of the Collaboration Centers;
to afford an extensive discussion about activities
carried out at the Foundation related to schistosomiasis mansoni;
It is worthwhile to mention that at this meeting was created
the Management Committee composed by the Directors of the Regional Centers
and of the IOC, as well as the following Scientific Committee:
Coordinator:
Naftale Katz
Basic area:
Henrique Leonel Lenzi
Miriam Tendler
Rodrigo Correa-Oliveira
Zilton Andrade
Epidemiological area:
José Rodrigues Coura
Frederico Simões Barbosa
Otávio Pieri
Luís Rey
Extern advisors:
Erney P Camargo
Amaury Coutinho
Aluísio Prata
Heonir Rocha
These meetings took place every other year and, in 1999, the
Coordinator Naftale Katz sent in his resignation. Then, Otávio Pieri
was chosen and he co-ordinated until 2002; after that Paulo Marcos Zech Coelho
took over the co-ordination, and remains in charge of this position up to now.
Therefore, the two meetings (International Symposium and Meeting
of Researchers) continued to take place, alternately, with results that may
be considered very productive. At every other year the International Symposium
was organized by one of the four Collaboration Centers localized in Rio de
Janeiro, Belo Horizonte, Recife, and Salvador.
The number of researchers dedicated to the study of schistosomiasis
increased significantly, reaching a plateau in the last years. The same can
be said about the number of published papers, by sets of ten, every year.
Throughout these two decades, after the International Symposium,
it was published a special issue of the excellent scientific journal Memórias
do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, containing the papers presented at the Symposium.
As an activity related to the Program, it is worthwhile to mention the odd
publications carried out by participants of the Program, with national circulation,
as follows:
Molluscs of parasitological interest from Brazil, 1977.
Schistosomiasis prevention is better than cure.
Brazilian Bibliography
on Schistosomiasis electronic edition quoting more than 3000 scientific
papers published in Brazilian scientific
journals (not always indexed journals) dealing with schistosomiasis, from
1908 untill 1990. It was the first time at Fiocruz that diskettes were used
for
divulgation of scientific information.
Who's Who in Schistosomiasis at Fiocruz,
1996.
Brazilian Bibliography of Theses on Schistosomiasis.
Morphological identification
of Biomphalaria glabrata,
B. tenagophila, and B.straminea, intermediary hosts of Schistosoma
mansoni (CD-Rom 2003)
Molluscs of Medical Importance in Brazil, 2005
(Book and CD-Rom)
The researchers of this Program have contributed for different
research areas, as for example:
Diagnostic, Experimental, and Clinical Therapeutics
Immunology
Ultrastructure
Molecular Biology
Epidemiology
Health Education
Malacology, among others.
Two courses were also organized: one for training of technicians
(medium level), organized and directed by colleagues of the Research Center
Aggeu Magalhães: Constança Simões Barbosa and Felipe Gonçalves;
and another one (specialization level) in charge of colleagues from ENSP and
IOC (Danielle Grynspan, Otávio Pieri, Silvana Thiengo, and Tereza Favre).
More recently, a Referral Center of Schistosomiasis, at the Research Center
René-Rachou was created, where several courses are offered to technicians
from the Ministry of Health.
A book on schistosomiasis that is being edited by Omar dos
Santos Carvalho, Henrique Leonel Lenzi, and Paulo Marcos Zech Coelho will be
of great importance. These three researchers in collaboration with 33 others,
pertaining to the Programme, are writing the book. It is a comprehensive publication
with contributions of 112 authors, including different aspects of this important
parasitosis.
Even at greatest risk of not mentioning important contributions,
I would like to highlight some publications that can be immediately put at
the public disposal:
Serological diagnosis for the acute phase, using KLH as
antigen
Textbook for Health Education
Natural molluscicide from the plant "Coroa de Cristo" (Euphorbia
splenes)
Diagnosis by PCR;
and for the near or distant future:
Biological Control/Taim strain
Vaccine: recombinant protein and its peptides.
The international symposia on schistosomiasis are the oldest
and regular ones worldwide. For the organization of the 10th International
Symposium on Schistosomiasis, among the already mentioned objectives, attention
must be drawn to divulgation of works carried out in Brazil, since there are
few citations of Brazilian papers by the international literature, for reasons
that we do not know how to explain. We would like to note that, in the last
years, there was a lack of support for researches on schistosomiasis in the
American Continent.
In the African Continent, emphasis is led to schistosomiasis
control, supported by either the European Community or by several foundations,
namely Bill and Melissa Gates Foundation, Carter Foundation, among others.
In Asia, the great Chinese Power, the sleeping giant who has
vigorously advanced in the last decades has also carried out substantial control
programmes, as well as many important researches, using either its own resources
or financial support provided by the World Bank. The same can be said about
the Philippine Islands.
In Brazil, Fiocruz is the main institution for research on
schistosomiasis. As far as schistosomiasis control is concerned, it has been
carried out by the Ministry of Health in association with the State Secretary
of Health and with the counties, in different states, with more or less intensity
or extension, throughout many years. However, it is worthwhile to note that
there is a consensus among Brazilian researchers and sanitarists regarding
a marked decrease of the hepato-splenic forms of schistosomiasis in our country,
in the last years.
Finally, I avail myself of this opportunity, with the presence
of such outstanding Brazilian and foreign scientists from 14 different countries,
to suggest the execution of a special Programme for Schistosomiasis Control
for the American Continent, coordinated by the Pan-American Health Organization.
Further, I would like to ask your agreement to this proposal.
As a matter of fact,
control, with the possibility of eradication in many Caribbean
Islands, since it seems to be possible;
support to Venezuela concerning the work that has been
carried out with significant results, diminishing nearly ten times the
prevalence rate in that country;
to emphasize the need of a survey related to the prevalence
in Brazil, since the last available data go back to 30 years ago;
special studies in Suriname, whose situation is poorly
known.
In this way, a Programme for the American Continent, with
similar objectives of the Schistosomiasis Programme by Fiocruz, could in a
short period stimulate contacts among the researchers in the continent, promoting
the control and increasing the researches, aiming at reaching, on the XXI Century,
the control or even the eradication of schistosomiasis in the American Continent,
attaining this goal more than 100 years after the discovery of this parasitosis
in our Continent.