Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine

Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine
Name	Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine
Native name	Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
Formation	1951
Type	Learned society
Headquarters	Rio de Janeiro
Region served	Brazil
Language	Portuguese

Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine is a professional association focused on parasitology, infectious diseases, and public health initiatives in Brazil, established in 1951 to coordinate clinical, epidemiological, and research efforts across federal and state institutions. The Society interfaces with academic centers, hospitals, and international organizations to address malaria, leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, schistosomiasis, dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and other tropical pathogens through advocacy, training, and scientific dissemination.

History

The Society was founded in 1951 in Rio de Janeiro with founders and early affiliates drawn from Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Instituto Evandro Chagas, Universidade de São Paulo, and Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais; its early meetings included delegates from Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo, Instituto de Higiene de São Paulo, Instituto Adolfo Lutz, Instituto Butantan, and Hospital Evandro Chagas. During the 1960s and 1970s the Society engaged with initiatives led by World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and collaborations with researchers at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Institut Pasteur, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, and Kitasato University. In subsequent decades the Society expanded networks with Universidade Federal do Ceará, Universidade Federal do Pará, Universidade Federal do Amazonas, Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, and international partners including Harvard School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, and National Institutes of Health.

Mission and Objectives

The Society's mission emphasizes clinical care, laboratory science, and public health policy linking Ministry of Health (Brazil), state secretariats such as Secretaria de Saúde do Estado do Amazonas and Secretaria de Saúde de São Paulo, academic departments at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro and Universidade de São Paulo, and research institutes such as Fiocruz and FIOCRUZ Amazônia to reduce the burden of vector-borne and neglected diseases. Objectives include capacity building with partners like Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development, promoting evidence from trials at Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da USP, supporting surveillance systems connected to Sistema Único de Saúde, and advocating for funding from agencies such as Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo. The Society advances guidelines drawing on work from Brazilian Society of Cardiology for Chagas, Associação Brasileira de Infectologia for HIV coinfection, and field protocols used in campaigns led by Ministério da Saúde and Superintendência Estadual de Saúde.

Organization and Membership

Governance comprises an executive board with links to universities like Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Universidade Federal de Pelotas, and research centers such as Centro de Pesquisas René Rachou and Instituto Nacional de Infectologia Evandro Chagas. Membership categories include clinicians from Hospital das Clínicas de Porto Alegre, researchers from Instituto de Pesquisas Clínicas Evandro Chagas, postgraduate students from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, and public health officers from Secretaria de Vigilância em Saúde; honorary members have included figures associated with Carlos Chagas, Oswaldo Cruz, Adolfo Lutz, and modern authorities from José Rodrigues Coura and Sérgio Ferreira. Regional chapters operate in states with endemic disease burdens such as Amazonas (state), Maranhão, Ceará, Pará (state), and Pernambuco, coordinating with municipal health departments like Secretaria Municipal de Saúde do Rio de Janeiro.

Activities and Programs

Programs encompass continuing medical education held in partnership with Sociedade Brasileira de Infectologia, field workshops at Instituto Leônidas e Maria Deane, and mobile brigades modeled on campaigns by Programa Nacional de Controle da Esquistossomose and Programa de Controle da Malária. The Society runs training in vector control methods derived from projects by Superintendência de Controle de Endemias and laboratory capacity initiatives aligned with Rede Nacional de Laboratórios. It organizes outreach using protocols from Programa Nacional de Imunizações during outbreaks like those linked to Zika virus outbreak in the Americas, 2015–2016 Zika virus epidemic, and 2016 yellow fever outbreak in Brazil, and contributes technical advice in response to emergencies managed by Sistema Único de Saúde and regional authorities such as Fundação Estadual de Saúde.

Publications and Conferences

The Society publishes a peer-reviewed journal and bulletins that cite work from institutions including Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical, Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Brazilian Journal of Infectious Diseases, PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, and collaborative articles with Lancet Infectious Diseases and New England Journal of Medicine authors. It convenes biennial congresses with proceedings attracting delegations from Society for Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene, European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, International Society of Travel Medicine, and regional meetings co-hosted with Latin American Society for Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. Special issues and symposia have addressed research from Instituto Evandro Chagas, Universidade Federal do Acre, Instituto Butantan and clinical trials registered with Brazilian Clinical Trials Registry and overseen by National Research Ethics Commission.

Partnerships and Impact

Strategic partnerships include long-term collaborations with Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, World Health Organization, Pan American Health Organization, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and national agencies such as Ministério da Saúde (Brazil), Brazilian Council for Scientific and Technological Development, and state secretariats. The Society’s influence is evident in policy advisories affecting programs like Programa Nacional de Controle da Esquistossomose, Programa Nacional de Controle da Malária, and vaccination strategies coordinated with Programa Nacional de Imunizações, and its experts have testified before bodies including Chamber of Deputies (Brazil), Federal Senate (Brazil), and contributed to guidelines adopted by World Health Organization. International collaborations extend to Pan American Health Organization emergency responses, multicenter trials with National Institutes of Health, and capacity-building grants from foundations like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Wellcome Trust, with measurable impacts on surveillance, treatment protocols, and workforce development across endemic regions.

Category:Medical associations based in Brazil Category:Tropical medicine organizations