Brazil is the 20th country certified by the WHO for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis

Brazil was the 20th country certified by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the elimination of lymphatic filariasis as a public health problem and the Institute of Drug Technology (Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz) played a key role in this achievement, as the only supplier of the drug used in the treatment registered in Brazil. Diethylcarbamazine 50mg was developed by the Institute and first registered in 1996, and it has been distributed throughout the country for more than 20 years, contributing to the national plan to tackle the disease, created in 1997.

"The elimination of a disease is a major achievement that requires unwavering commitment," said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. "I congratulate Brazil for its efforts to rid its people of the scourge of this painful, deforming, disabling and stigmatizing disease. This is another example of the incredible progress we have made against neglected tropical diseases. And it gives hope that eliminating this disease is possible for many other nations that are still facing lymphatic filariasis."

The elimination of lymphatic filariasis is part of the Brazil Healthy program, launched by the Federal Government in February 2024 (photo: Ministry of Health)

Minister of Health, Nísia Trindade Lima reinforces the government's strategies, carried out over the last few years, and the next steps. "In recent decades, Brazil has adopted a series of coordinated measures to eliminate lymphatic filariasis, such as mass distribution of antiparasitic drugs, vector control and strict surveillance, especially in the most affected areas. It is an achievement of generations of sanitarians and other health professionals. Thanks to these efforts, the country managed to cease transmission of the disease in 2017. In the post-elimination phase, vigilance will be maintained to prevent the disease from reemerging," she says.

The Secretary for Science, Technology, Innovation and the Health Economic-Industrial Complex (Sectics/MS), Carlos Gadelha, defines Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz as one of the most advanced and structuring projects in the Health Economic-Industrial Complex (Ceis). "Farmanguinhos, as always, honors Fiocruz, the Brazilian State and Brazilian society, by pioneering advances in the field of technologies and innovation, which allow us to care for people, save lives and build a sovereign, equitable, independent and sustainable Brazil. We are rescuing the role of public production to face the challenge of neglected diseases. More than a billion people in the world, 500 million of them children, and this technological advance, in innovation, in the production of drugs for filariasis, is a milestone in the new strategy, in which the Ministry of Health puts life first," he comments.

With the elimination of the disease popularly known as elephantiasis, Brazil became the 53rd country to eliminate at least one neglected tropical disease globally. The director of Farmanguinhos/Fiocruz, Jorge Mendonça, comments on the institutional mission and its work for the Unified Health System (SUS). "The elimination of filariasis is a great achievement for the health of the Brazilian population and a historic milestone for neglected diseases. Being the only national supplier of the drug, registered with Anvisa since 1996, and managing to eliminate a neglected disease reinforces Farmanguinhos' leading role in the production of drugs and integrated solutions for the SUS."

Jorge also highlights how the supply of the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) assured the supply of drugs. "The national production of the diethylcarbamazine API, by Nortec Química, has also contributed to the Brazilian autonomy of the entire chain and the mass continuity of treatment," explains the director.

The elimination of lymphatic filariasis is part of the Healthy Brazil [Brasil Saudável] program, launched by the Federal Government in February 2024 with the aim of ending socially determined diseases with an inter-ministerial approach. Additionally, the roadmap on neglected diseases 2021-2030 further involves the prevention, control, elimination and eradication of 20 diseases and groups of diseases by 2030.