Fiocruz Rondônia, Fundhacre and Charles Mérieux Center for Infectious Diseases strengthen partnerships

With the arrival of winter in the Amazon, there is growing concern about the diseases transmitted by Aedes aegypti, known as arboviruses. Dengue, zika and chikungunya are the most common diseases in the Amazon region, but there are also other less well-known diseases, such as the oropouche and mayaro viruses (the latter which is very common in hard-to-reach places and forest areas, with the Haemagogus janthinomys mosquito as the main vector of transmission).

Fiocruz Rondônia, in partnership with the Health Department of Acre and the Charles Mérieux Center for Infectious Diseases, has signed a partnership to analyze tests and diagnose arboviruses (photo: Evandro Derze/Assecom)

The head of the Molecular Virology Laboratory at Fiocruz Rondônia, Deusilene Vieira, explains that there are over 500 different arboviruses. Of these, a good number can be found in Amazonian states, given the characteristics of the region, "with this change from the dry to the rainy season, it is very common for the population to show symptoms that may be related to one of these diseases," says the researcher.

To act preventively, Fiocruz Rondônia, in partnership with the Health Department of Acre and the Charles Mérieux Center for Infectious Diseases, has signed a partnership to analyze tests and diagnose these diseases. "This is a very important step because, with this molecular surveillance, we can better understand which viruses are circulating and, from this work, we can better monitor and propose safe surveillance and control alternatives to the competent bodies," says Deusilene.

The alignment meeting took place in Rio Branco and was attended by representatives from Fiocruz Rondônia, the Charles Mérieux Center for Infectious Diseases and the Health Department of the Acre capital. The manager of the Rodolpho Mérieux Laboratory – Acre State Hospital (Fundhacre) and also director of the Charles Mérieux Center for Infectious Diseases, Daniel da Matta, praises the laboratory's experience during the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrating its technical capacity and expertise to combat other common diseases in the region.

Surveillance of resistant microorganisms

As part of the surveillance of resistant microorganisms in hospitals, a hybrid meeting was also held between researchers from Fiocruz Rondônia and the Acre State Hospital Foundation (Fundhacre). The aim of the meeting was to discuss surveillance strategies for resistant microorganisms in hospital units in the two states, as this is an issue of concern to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Ministry of Health. In Rondônia, studies coordinated by the Laboratory of Microorganism Biology show the incidence of bacteria resistant to the group of antibiotics most effective in treating bacterial infections in hospital units in Porto Velho. The meeting was attended by representatives of the LAC-Microbiology Clinical Laboratory, the Hospital Infection Control Service (SCIH), the Intensive Care Unit (ICU), the Charles Mérieux Laboratory, the Mérieux Foundation of France and Fundhacre.