Viral and parasitic diseases are a problem concerning public health in the Amazon.
The Amazon region of Brazil, Belém, has 22 million inhabitants. The human occupation is accompanied by a decline in the standard of life. The people live with low levels of education, lack of essential sanitary conditions, increase of diseases and decrease of awareness to health. The Instituto Evandro Chagas’ (IEC) main goal for the Brazilian population is to improve the overall quality of life.
The IEC acts in the field of public health, developing studies in biological sciences and has played a prominent part in tropical and environmental medicine. There are six different areas the IEC focuses on: surveillance in health and environment, monitoring health and environmental problems emerging in Amazonian states, providing support at both state and municipal levels, water contamination and cause of disease, research projects in health and the environment and technical training to personnel in the secretary of surveillance in health.
Elisabeth Santos, director of the IEC, says that since 1992 the control over disease has worsened. The IEC has studied the field of Public Health and biomedical research for more than 70 years.
Vectors transmit viral and parasitic diseases. A vector is any agent that carries a transmitted disease, for example, mosquitoes are vectors of yellow fever. Yellow fever is a complicated disease and there is no cure. “We are trying to figure out what kind of virus it is,” said Santos.
There are four types of parasitic diseases affecting the Amazonian community: arboviral disease, malaria, Chagas disease and leishmaniasis. These diseases are a priority pertaining to public health issues in the Amazon.
There are two stages that come with being infected with Chagas disease: the acute stage (shortly after the infection) and the chronic stage (develops over many years). Swelling occurs during at acute stage and the chronic stage affects the nervous system, digestive system and heart.
Next, arboviral diseases come from ticks and mosquitoes and are capable of infecting birds and mammals. The characteristics of this infection are headache, fever, swelling of the brain and death.
Third, an infective female Anopheles mosquito transmits malaria. Symptoms of the disease are fever, joint pain, shivering, vomiting, anemia, retinal damage and convulsions. “Malaria is under control everywhere except the Amazon,” says Santos.
Finally, a bite from a certain species of sand fly transmits leishmaniasis. There are four types of leishmaniasis: visceral, cutaneous, diffuse cutaneous and mucocutaneous. The infection causes skin sores, fever, liver and spleen damage and anemia.
In order to understand the transmission of these diseases, the IEC studies genetic variability of the transmitters, genotype diversity, distribution and description of recently identified species of vectors and hosts.
With that, the IEC has accomplished biological, biochemical and molecular studies to help describe seven leishmania species in the Amazon basin. In addition, they have been successful in identifying biochemical markers providing characterization in regards to Chagas disease.
Nowadays, Amazonians are provided with free vaccinations in order to avoid obtaining horrible diseases such as yellow fever and malaria. “Companies are aggressive in vaccinating the entire population, including the indigenous peoples,” said Santos.
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