Fiocruz International News – August 2020

Fiocruz expands national testing capacity

The Foundation inaugurated two Support Units to the Diagnostic of Covid-19 to help Brazil expand its testing capacity. Built based on similar plants and in an emergency setting, the new installations in Rio de Janeiro and Ceará occupy an area of approximately 2,300 square meters each. Equipped with platforms that use real-time PCR, the units have the potential to work 24/7. The unit of Rio has the capacity of processing up to p to 15,000 molecular tests per day and the unit of Ceará 10,000 tests.

Institutions join forces for an innovative project to fight Covid-19 in the favelas

A pilot project in some favelas in Rio de Janeiro makes possible full healthcare in these territories, with services ranging from orientation and support to local population, telemedicine, molecular tests, contact tracing, and production of risk maps within the communities. According to the specialists involved, these actions, implemented in a structured way, constitute an active surveillance proposal that might be considered a model to fight the pandemic in favelas and popular territories.

Fiocruz conducts actions to confront Covid-19 in indigenous peoples

Researchers from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation develop a plan to support the fight against Covid-19 among indigenous peoples. One of the goals is to intensify surveillance and improve information about the impacts of the pandemic on these populations. The actions integrate researchers in support of diagnosis, health care, research, education, emergency support and communication.

Cases of dengue fever have fallen 77% with the Wolbachia method
Thtat was the first gold standard test to show the capacity of reducing cases of dengue fever using Wolbachia method in the Aedes aegypti. In Brazil, the initiative is led by Fiocruz and already has preliminary data showing a reduction in cases of chikungunya.
Interview: “Covid-19 has revealed structural problems”
Carlos Gadelha, coordinator of Prospection Actions at Fiocruz, talks about how Covid-19 has shown Brazil’s fragility in promoting an industrial policy in the health area. He advocates for an agenda that put health in the core of a sustainable development strategy.
Research will evaluate effects of pandemic on gender issues
In partnership with an international research group, Fiocruz will conduct real-time analyses of gender dynamics during the pandemic. The project will observe how social, economic and health policies interact with, exacerbate or mitigate pre-existing inequalities in different countries.
Fiocruz President assists in the UN Roadmap for the Recovery of Covid-19
Nísia Trindade Lima, is the co-chair of the Group on Economic Response and Recovery of the initiative created by research funding agencies to develop a United Nations Research Roadmap for the Recovery of Covid-19.
Return to school is a risk for more than 9.3 million adults in Brazil
4.4% of the overall population in the country are elderly or adults with chronic health conditions that share the same household with children and teenagers of school age.
Tool foresees long-term pain after chikungunya
Rearchers from Fiocruz Bahia carried out a study to identify the relevant clinical and demographic variables in the acute phase of chikungunya, seeking to list a set of features that may indicate the patients who have greater probability of developing chronic arthralgia (long-term pain in the joints). The results were published at Plos Neglected Tropical Diseases.
Event debates vaccines as global public goods
The meeting aimed to reflect on access to vaccines and medicines against Covid-19 by developing countries. The event discussed initiatives and strategies aimed on taking out of paper the intention of making the vaccine for Covid-19 a public good.
Fiocruz celebrates International Youth Day
The event as also a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Brazilian Statute of Children and Adolescents and discussed the society’s structural inequalities faced by the these populations. Youth as a driver of social development is one of the main themes of Fiocruz cooperation with the United Nations Populations Fund (Unfpa).
Call for PhD with experience abroad reopens
After a postponement due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the call for scholarships has now a new schedule. Application can be submitted until October 7
Follow us on Twitter for more