Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases

Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases
Name	Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases
Formation	1974
Type	Professional association
Headquarters	São Paulo
Location	Brazil
Leader title	President

Brazilian Society of Infectious Diseases is a professional association representing physicians and researchers specializing in infectious diseases in Brazil. It engages with national and international institutions to promote clinical practice, research, continuing education, and public health policy. The society interacts with hospitals, universities, regulatory agencies, and multilateral organizations to address communicable diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and emerging infections.

History

The society was founded amid a growing concern about infectious threats during the 20th century, linking with institutions such as University of São Paulo, Fiocruz, Ministry of Health (Brazil), World Health Organization, and Pan American Health Organization to shape Brazil’s response to epidemics. Early collaborations involved specialists associated with Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Paulista School of Medicine, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Instituto Butantan, and regional centers in Rio de Janeiro (city), Belo Horizonte, Salvador, Bahia, and Recife. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s it engaged with international partners such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Institut Pasteur, U.S. National Institutes of Health, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and academic groups from Harvard Medical School, Johns Hopkins University, University of California, San Francisco, Karolinska Institutet, University of Oxford, and University of Cambridge. The society’s history reflects responses to crises like outbreaks of HIV/AIDS epidemic, Dengue fever, Zika virus outbreak, Chikungunya virus, Yellow fever, and COVID-19 pandemic, prompting coordination with bodies including UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and national research councils such as CNPq and CAPES.

Organization and Governance

Governance structures mirror those in associations like American Society for Microbiology, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, and Infectious Diseases Society of America, with a board of directors, scientific committees, and regional chapters across states such as São Paulo (state), Rio de Janeiro (state), Minas Gerais, Bahia (state), Pernambuco, Paraná (state), and Rio Grande do Sul. Its statutes require coordination with institutions like Brazilian Medical Association, Conselho Federal de Medicina, Anvisa, Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária, National Health Council (Brazil), and municipal health secretariats in cities including Brasília, Fortaleza, Porto Alegre, Curitiba, and Manaus. Leadership roles have interfaced with figures from Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Universidade Federal do Ceará, University of Brasília, and international affiliates such as The Lancet Infectious Diseases editorial collaborators and representatives from World Bank health programs.

Membership and Certification

Membership categories reflect models from American Board of Internal Medicine certification pathways and certification systems used by Royal College of Physicians, offering fellowships, associate memberships, and trainee affiliates tied to residency programs at hospitals like Hospital Sírio-Libanês, Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein, and university hospitals affiliated with Universidade Estadual Paulista. The society collaborates with postgraduate training programs at institutions such as Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, and with specialty boards recognized by Ministério da Educação (Brazil). It coordinates exam processes and professional development aligned with international standards from bodies such as European Board of Infectious Diseases and certification frameworks used by Royal Australasian College of Physicians and American Board of Pediatrics for pediatric infectious disease subspecialists.

Activities and Programs

The society organizes annual congresses, symposia, and workshops similar to meetings by International Congress on Infectious Diseases, European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, and IDWeek, convening speakers from institutions including Harvard School of Public Health, Imperial College London, Institut Pasteur de Dakar, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, McMaster University, University of Toronto, Tel Aviv University, and National University of Singapore. Programs include continuing medical education, residency curricula development, simulation training, and joint initiatives with Sociedade Brasileira de Pediatria, Associação Médica Brasileira, Sociedade Brasileira de Cardiologia, and specialty societies addressing co-infections with diseases like Tuberculosis, Malaria, Hepatitis C, and Leishmaniasis. The society has participated in multicenter clinical trials and vaccine studies coordinated with Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Sinovac Biotech, GSK, Merck & Co., Sanofi, and international research consortia including Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Publications and Research

It publishes guidelines, position statements, and collaborates on journals and supplements with publishers and journals such as Journal of Infectious Diseases, Clinical Infectious Diseases, The Lancet, The New England Journal of Medicine, BMJ, Nature Medicine, PLOS ONE, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, Lancet Infectious Diseases, and Brazilian periodicals linked to SciELO and Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases. Research priorities have included antimicrobial stewardship, diagnostics, vaccine efficacy, and epidemiology in partnership with research funders such as FIOCRUZ, CNPq, CAPES, FAPESP, Wellcome Trust, European Commission, and industry collaborators like Novartis. Multi-institutional studies have involved centers such as Hospital das Clínicas, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, and international networks like Global Health Security Agenda.

Advocacy and Public Health Initiatives

Advocacy efforts align with public health campaigns alongside agencies including Ministry of Health (Brazil), WHO, PAHO, UNICEF, and civil society groups such as Medicus Mundi International and Doctors Without Borders. The society has issued guidance during outbreaks of Zika virus, COVID-19 pandemic, and Yellow fever, promoting vaccination campaigns with partners like Butantan Institute, Instituto Butantan, and national immunization programs modeled after initiatives from Brazilian Ministry of Health National Immunization Program. It engages in antimicrobial resistance policy discussions with Tripartite AMR Coordination partners and global coalitions like ReAct and supports surveillance through networks such as SUS-linked laboratories and sentinel sites in collaboration with Anvisa and state health departments.

Category:Medical associations based in Brazil Category:Infectious disease organizations