BSTM Newsletter Celebrates 100 Issues

The reports show cities in unsuitable conditions to live, whether due to inadequate housing, lack of infrastructure, violence, pollution, promoting aggregation of the set of knowledge from a tropical perspective, always mixing the educational with the scientific

The Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicines (BSTM) Newsletter will be out this November with the number 100 visible at the top. There are 100 uninterrupted editions that, in this series, began in August 2011. For more than 8 years, the SBMT Newsletter shows that Tropical Medicine is beyond applied tropical parasitology and must also address urban tropical diseases and non-infectious tropical diseases, including those from external causes – such as slum violence and motorcycle accidents in tropical cities. It is following this line that the president of BSTM at the time, Dr. Carlos Henrique Costa, currently responsible for the media, guides the editorial line of the monthly newsletter. “We are experiencing a transitional phase between old and new Tropical Medicine and our goal as a scientific society is to change paradigms and revise concepts. Only in this way can Brazil change its role and position itself as a representative and legitimate leader of the Tropics”, he points out.

Through the Newsletter, BSTM works on this conceptual transformation by bringing the problems that occur in tropical cities to the center of the discussion. The reports show cities that are not fit to live, whether due to inadequate housing, lack of infrastructure, violence or pollution, thus promoting the aggregation of this set of knowledge from a tropical perspective, always mixing the educational with the scientific. The newsletter has evolved rapidly. Issue 09, from April 2012, has arrived with a fresh look. Subsequent editions, in addition to the new look, also became bilingual (as did the portal). The choice of both languages aimed to increasingly bring health professionals around the world closer to the theme of Tropical Medicine.

In its process of striving for excellence in quality, issue 83, June 2018, arrived with a new designer. The new design, very clean and elegant, sought to highlight one of the most valuable values for a communication vehicle: objectivity. The new proposal brought a totally modern layout that came to value new elements of attraction for reading. The new layout and functionality attributes have also been perfectly matched to the sizes of mobile devices. The change shows the BSTMs ability to always stay current and in tune with the demands of society and its target audience. The new BSTM Newsletter format came when the management of the president at the time, Dr. Sinval Pinto Brandão Filho, completed his first year.

All the changes proposed so far seek to show the need to reinforce the breadth of the current concept of Tropical Medicine, highlighting the BSTMs goal of assuming the central role in the discussion of the theme in a world, with a cosmopolitan and protagonist vision in promoting the good of the tropical people.

Nasdaq cites story published in the BSTM Newsletter

Article published in SBMT Newsletter, Issue 14, published in September 2012, is cited by Nasdaq, the second largest stock market in the world, after the Stock Exchange. New York, Nasdaq is an international benchmark in the economy. As a parameter in the area of tropical diseases, the stock market listed the president of SBMT at the time, Dr. Mitermayer Galvão dos Reis, among the citations for the article about the progress of the production of a dengue vaccine that could move billions. The article took into consideration the clarification by Dr. Mitermayer while saying that companies like Merck and GlaxoSmithKline – the latter in partnership with Bio-Manguinhos/Fiocruz – were working on a dengue vaccine. The excerpt used called for the story in the English version. For the media coordinator, Dr. Carlos Henrique Costa, the recognition is the crowning achievement of BSTMs global work, as well as the repercussion of his work among the main international actors, who are looking to the BSTM.

What some BSTM former presidents and president say about the Newsletter

Dr. Carlos Henrique Costa (2011-2013): The SBMT Newsletter has given our institution enormous visibility and engagement in the cause of tropical peoples. By incorporating themes beyond traditional tropical infectious diseases, it has highlighted important issues related to the health of the tropics, such as hunger, violence, health and scientific policies and the most current and threatening of these themes, global warming and its repercussions on the tropics.

Dr. Mitermayer Galvão dos Reis (2013-2015): I remember that I was the enthusiast of the Newsletter in Portuguese and English, understanding that it facilitated the BSTMs communication with everyone in Brazil and around the world.  The Newsletter plays an important role in working to properly disseminate relevant topics about science, technology, innovation, public health policies contributing to inclusion, reducing inequalities, and social justice. In addition, the visibility of the BSTM has increased. Congratulations to the Newsletter and all those responsible for contributing to its success and for it to last forever.

Dr. Marcus Vinicius Guimarães de Lacerda (2015-2017): Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine, an unparalleled society that makes science among professionals from various fields of knowledge, WITHOUT discriminating the researcher from students and patients. They are ONE HUNDRED numbers of a communication tool that brings us all together with a multitude of information. Because today, in a country without clear plans for science and technology, ONE HUNDRED is a number few will ever reach. May more ONE HUNDRED numbers come!

Dr. Sinval Pinto Brandão Filho (2017-2019): In a world increasingly connected by communication networks, where diverse sources of reliable science information are increasingly fundamental, the BSTMs Newsletter has come to fill this gap in the field of Tropical Medicine in Brazil and the Americas, with several articles addressing relevant and current topics in this field and reflecting their debate in our congresses and in the media. On the other hand, associated with this important dissemination, the BSTM promotes in its annual congresses the awarding of the best works in tropical medicine published in the Brazilian media to recognize the importance of good scientific dissemination in this field. It is therefore a great satisfaction to celebrate the 100th issue of our Newsletter. May hundreds more come ahead!

Dr. Pedro Fernando da Costa Vasconcelos (2019-2021): The Newsletter represents a breakthrough in the BSTMs communication with its partners and readers throughout Brazil. It is current and modern and accelerates scientific information, that is, through it the scientific news reaches those who need them faster. I am honored to be president of the BSTM at such an important moment for the Society, the 100th issue of the BSTM Newsletter. May it continue to bring quality information quickly enough in this world so dynamic and eager for news.

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