Basic research on Chagas disease: Fifty years of a successful initiative

Abstract

This article celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Annual Meetings on Basic Research in Chagas Disease, traditionally held in Caxambu, a spa town in Minas Gerais, Brazil. This milestone is noteworthy as these events have substantially contributed to developing the Brazilian protozoology community. We review the history of these meetings from their inception in 1974 in Rio de Janeiro, tracing their evolution over the past five decades. The growing success of the meetings attracted researchers focused on other protozoa, particularly Leishmania, and in 2004, the Brazilian Society of Protozoology assumed responsibility for organizing the Caxambu Meetings. In this review, we analyze the progress of research on Chagas disease and leishmaniasis in Brazil by examining publication trends and the number of master's dissertations and doctoral theses defended on these diseases during the periods 1923-1975 and 1976-2024. We emphasize that the initial financial support from the Integrated Endemic Diseases Program (PIDE) of the Brazilian National Research Council (CNPq) and the Special Program for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR/WHO), launched in 1973 and 1974 respectively, was of fundamental importance.

Keywords: Brazilian society of protozoology; Caxambu Meetings; Chagas disease; Leishmaniasis; Trypanosoma cruzi.