Fiocruz International News – April 2020

In an interview to the Fiocruz News Agency (AFN), Nísia Trindade Lima comments on the context of the Covid-19 pandemics and the challenges of its arrival in Brazil. The Fiocruz president also lists some of the actions taken by the institution as a response to this public health crisis, from the production of tests to health care to those infected. All departments and units of the Foundation are mobilized to face the epidemics. “It's Fiocruz 120th anniversary in May, and it will be marked by our response to this pandemic, just like the origin of the institution was a public health response to epidemics in Rio de Janeiro”, highlights the president.

The rapid assembly unit will have 200 beds exclusively for intensive and semi-intensive care of critical patients infected with the novel coronavirus. The initiative will also have a diagnostic support system for all necessary tests, including imaging, such as computed tomography. The hospital will be coordinated by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases Evandro Chagas (INI/Fiocruz), the reference unit of the Foundation for ​​clinical research and specialized care in infectious diseases, which already acts as a reference for Covid-19. The new space will be part of the Solidarity clinical trial, which is coordinated by Fiocruz in Brazil.

The Laboratory for Respiratory Viruses and Measles of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute (IOC/Fiocruz) has been nominated Reference Laboratory of the World Health Organization (WHO) for Covid-19 in the Americas. After the formalization of the agreement between WHO and Fiocruz, the unit will now begin to make confirmatory tests for the disease in the region, and will also join the WHO network of laboratory specialists for Covid-19.