In August this year, a new species of triatomine - insects known as kissing bugs – was discovered and named Belminus santosmalletae, after researcher Jacenir dos Santos Mallet, substitute chief of the Laboratory of Leishmaniasis Transmitters of IOC/Fiocruz, for her more than 30 years of work on vectors of tropical diseases. Mallet is a biologist with a post-graduation in Tropical Medicine and professional work in the field of zoology, with emphasis in medical entomology and pathogens associated to vectors, in addition to being part of Fiocruz projects supported by Fiotec.

In an interview to Conexão Fiotec-Fiocruz, the researcher talked about the matter of environment degradation, neglected tropical diseases and, specifically, leishmaniasis, one of the tropical diseases that is least fought in the world. The conversation also addressed the project she has been working on, called “Popular, environmental and women's health surveillance in the Covid-19 context”:

The United Nations have defined the period between 2021 abd 2031 as the decade of ecosystem restauration. The environment has been in the spotlight for some time now: draughts, fires, lack of effective protection measures. What’s the importance of protecting the biomes, thinking about the present and, in particular, about the future?

Protecting the biomes is crucial to preserve life. Many countries acknowledge the importance of a healthy and sustainable environment. However, actions that degrade the environment have been more common and more intense, and in order to prevent this from happening nations must take effective steps. The UN has recently approved a resolution whose document acknowledged that “environmental degradation, climate change and unsustainable development are some of the most serious and urgent threats to the capacity of present and future generations of enjoying human rights, including the right to life”. This is an important resolution, but it must go beyond words written on paper: countries must take actual measures.

We must not forget that changes made to the environment affect the entire planet, but only in the poorest, most vulnerable countries are the implications disastrous, because they involve basic issues such as food security and, consequently, hunger. In my opinion, this must be a joint motion by governments, research institutions, and the society as a whole.

This year the WHO launched a plan against neglected tropical diseases. In Brazil, what is the reality regarding neglected tropical diseases and why is it important to talk about this?

Neglected diseases make up a group of tropical diseases that mainly affects populations in Africa, Latin America, and Asia, and can also be called “poverty-related transmissible diseases”. This group includes malaria, Chagas disease, leishmaniasis in all its forms, leptospirosis, dengue fever, rheumatic fever, schistosomiasis and other intestinal parasites. In Brazil, diseases such as geohelminthiasis (diseases transmitted by helminths that spend part of their life cycle in the soil) are present in all states. Schistosomiasis is present in 19 states, while others, like filariasis, are found only in the state of Pernambuco.

January 30th is World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day, and in March 2021 the Secretary of Surveillance in Health of the Ministry of Health launched a bulletin on Neglected Diseases, including other diseases such as trachoma, snake bites, hantavirus diseases, and diseases transmitted by water and food.

However, in some regions neglected diseases end up being even more neglected due to lack of information. One such example is Chagas disease. With the elimination of its main vector (the kissing bug), Triatoma infestans, in the past decades, came the “idea” that the disease was extinct. However, in the northeast of Brazil, other species of kissing bug are still present, in homes as well as around them, putting thousands of people at risk. The same happens in the north region, where outbreaks of Chagas disease occur due to oral transmission.

This is why one of the ways to fight against these diseases is education. It is crucial that the population always be informed on how to avoid them, on prevention measures etc. Education in health for all segments of the society, including school communities and health workers, is the main tool to help control neglected diseases.

Brazil has endemic areas of visceral leishmaniasis. It has recently been mentioned that the disease is advancing into urban areas, where incidence was previously low. Is this actually happening? What effective steps can be taken to control the disease?

Leishmaniasis is one of the world’s most neglected tropical diseases. It is a vectorial disease (that is, tranasmitted by mosquitos) that is considered emerging and in full-blown geographical expansion. A higher occurrence of the disease in rural areas was a reality for a long time, as the transmitting insect (mosquito) of the parasite that causes the disease (leishmania) was present in wild areas and people got infected when they entered the forest to hunt, gather etc. However, as human intervention on the environment became more intense, resulting in changes in vegetation and geography, and deforestation to build homes, as well as climate variations, are all elements that play an important role in the epidemiology of the disease, characterizing what specialists call “urbanization process of visceral leishmaniasis”.

The challenges faced by the efforts to control the disease are many, but the National Program of Visceral leishmaniasis Control proposes detection measures and treatment of human cases, control of domestic (animal) reservoirs, and control of vectors (phlebotominae insects).

In addition to these measures, I also believe that education in health can contribute to reduce the rates of the diseases.

You are in charge of the subproject of Inova Fiocruz, called “Environmental popular and feminine surveillance in health in the context of Covid-19”, with actions in the state of Piauí. Can you tell us more about this initiative? How do you see the issue of vulnerable populations and Covid?

The importance of this project focuses on female protagonism and strengthening in the territory, as it should be emphasized that the female body has been seen, in our society, as a good, an object, and it has been manipulated and depredated by men and by the State, harming women’s health, their families, and the territory. In the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, women have been those most seriously affected, due to their precarious position in the labor market. They have remained in social isolation as much as possible, losing income and being the first to be dismissed from work, and also those most vulnerable to domestic violence by their partners. At the same time, women have played a crucial role, as their actions have been based on a welcoming, solidary, communitary and revolutionary perspective, as well as competent, generating health in the territory.

The Covid-19 pandemic has produced a great challenge for the globalized world in general and for Brazil in particular, a country with alarming levels of income concentration and social and economic inequalities between urban centers and rural areas, worsening pre-existing situations that affect the health of the population that inhabits rural territories. The country is also plagued by strong gender inequality: men and women have starkly different opportunities regarding

access to land, credit, technology, and training. We therefore aim to build a project that focuses on the protagonism and empowerment of rural women through a socio-technical network to create popular and female environmental surveillance.

The general goal is to identify how women organize and work to develop popular and environmental surveillance before and after the pandemic, taking into account education and training in the perspective of gender equality and governance and in the context of access to water resources and basic sanitation, in the territory of the Sambito river valley. Our actions take place in the municipality of Ipiranga, in the state of Piauí, with the support of the municipal government and of various members of the organized civil society.

This project relies on the participation of researcher Elaine Nascimento and of doctorate students Jessica Santos and Polyanna Bacelar.

Last August a new species of kissing bug, the “Belminus santosmalletae”, was named after you. How did it feel? What does this represent to you?

Naming species of living creatures after someone is a very beautiful and commendable thing. I never thought this would happen to me. It was a big and wonderful surprise. Some curious anectodes come to mind right now. In 1979 I was a student in the second year of Biological Sciences and I went to Fiocruz looking for an internship with a researcher who worked with electronic microscopy. Thanks to some twist of fate, I didn’t find the researcher who had made the position available, and when I asked another researcher, Dr. Dyrce Lacombe, she said she was also in need of interns. This was the beginning of my life at Fiocruz, working with kissing bugs, the insect that transmits Chagas disease. It’s been 42 years now. Many actions, ups and downs, a lot of field work (I was taken to the field for the first time by my friend, Dr. Teresa Cristina Gonçalves), student orientation, living side by side with a lot of people over all these years.

And then comes this homage by researchers Carolina Dale, Silvia Justi and Cleber Galvão. I was very very touched, because my name was immortalized in an insect species, a class to which I have dedicated an entire life of studies. Even bigger than that was the emotion of reading the words the authors dedicated to me. I felt my heart warm up by those words; they reflect what I feel is the most important thing in life: to touch people. By “touch” I mean to cultivate friendships, to welcome, to share knowledge and to learn at the same time. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to sufficiently thank this trio of researchers for this homage.

But there’s another curious fact I haven’t mentioned yet: My name, Jacenir, is an indigenous name. And it means “insect”.

Finally, how do you see Fiotec’s support to Fiocruz projects and initiatives, and how does this help or benefit a researcher’s actuation?

A scientist’s life is full of ups and downs when it comes to funding, as it depends a lot on funds made available by promoting agencies. Therefore, Fiocruz’s initiatives to come up with in-house promotion notices represent a priceless help for us researchers. I’m very proud to belong to this institution that understands the worth of its employees and promotes scientific research in an effective and innovative manner. An ally in these initiatives, Fiotec supports the execution of these institutional projects and other national and international ones. I have a few projects managed by Fiotec and the analysts who follow them are very skilled and competent. Via IOC, we have the Papi Platform, which also helps execute projects, and my special thanks goes to Rosilene de Oliveira and Lorenna Bertholdo da Silva.

I would also like to thank Fiotec analysts Rodrigo Inácio and Renata Alves da Costa for their constant support and competence. In particular, I would like to thank Flavia Oliveira da Silva Porto, whose support, dedication and competence are made richer by her gentle and welcoming nature, her best features. For me, the help of Fiotec analysts is fundamental for the success of our research. My many thanks to Fiotec!