Global Health - Brazil

There are more than 35 million people worldwide living with HIV. With over 60 years of expertise in preventing and fighting diseases, CDC plays a critical role in helping ministries of health in partner countries build strong, sustainable programs that respond effectively to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. CDC provides support to more than 60 countries as a key partner in the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).

In Brazil, CDC has piloted the “A Hora é Agora” (the Time is Now) Program, which aims to expand HIV rapid testing among MSM, and to ensure linkage to care in partnership with the Curitiba Municipal Health Secretariat.

Vaccines prevent an estimated 2.5 million deaths among children younger than age 5 every year. Still, 1 child dies every 20 seconds from a disease that could have been prevented by a vaccine. Why? Because 1 in 5 children in the world do not have access to the life-saving immunizations that keep children healthy. CDC provides technical and programmatic expertise to meet immunization goals and international resolutions to eradicate polio, reduce measles mortality, and strengthen national routine immunization programs. These interventions save the lives of 2-3 million people every year.

In Brazil, CDC, through the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), provides scientific and programmatic expertise to meet national immunization goals and vaccine preventable disease initiatives for the elimination of measles, rubella, and congenital rubella syndrome.

After a steady increase in malaria among the countries of the Amazon Basin region, CDC, USAID, PAHO, and other partners developed and launched the Amazon Malaria Initiative in 2001. The initiative is focused on appropriate policies for disease treatment.

CDC provides technical assistance and capacity development specifically for monitoring antimalarial drug resistance and insecticide resistance. This has been an ongoing project with funding from USAID and typically involves several technical assistance visits annually.

Field epidemiologists rapidly respond to public health threats by collecting and using data to make recommendations to reduce or prevent illnesses, injuries or death. US CDC created the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) to increase the skills and abilities of public health professionals in field epidemiology. Ministries of health in other countries recognized the success of the EIS and asked CDC to assist in establishing similar programs in their countries.

Epidemiologia Aplicada aos Serviços do Sistema Único de Saúde (EPISUS) has been a CDC and MoH collaboration success story. EPISUS was created by the MoH in 2000 with support from CDC, the World Bank, and the CDC Foundation. In 2009 the program became autonomous and self-sustained under the MoH. EPISUS has trained more than 100 epidemiologists, conducted more than 230 outbreak investigations, and evaluated more than 100 surveillance systems. EPISUS is a well-regarded two-year program and a leading element of the MoH’s surveillance and emergency response structure. Through EPISUS and other collaborations CDC has assisted the MoH in improving its operational capability to verify deaths, CDC has also assisted in the disease surveillance strategy for the world cup FIFA 2014, incorporating new technologies such as real time data collection using EPIINFO on tablet and it´s dashboard, technologies that now are been used in the Zika virus emergency response and investigation.

CDC has had a cooperative agreement with the MoH since 2006 to strengthen influenza pandemic preparedness, laboratory capacity, and epidemiologic surveillance. CDC supports seasonal influenza vaccination through its partnership with PAHO and also provides technical assistance to the Instituto Butantan, a Sao Paulo State health institution, to support development of vaccines against novel influenza strains. Brazil has a robust influenza surveillance system with 57 surveillance sites supported by three national laboratories that provide CDC, in its role as a WHO Collaborating Center, with data and virus isolates that contribute to the biannual vaccine strain selection process. During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic Brazil was an important contributor of surveillance and clinical information to global partners, and now works with CDC to generate national estimates of influenza-associated mortality.

Travel:

• U.S. Department of State International Travel Information: Brazil
• Health Information for Travelers to Brazil

General:

• US Embassy to Brazil
• CIA World Factbook: Brazil