Fernando Dias de Avila-Pires

Mamíferos da França Equinocial (Maranhão, Brasil)

During the XVI Century, France succeeded in establishing a few colonies in the Americas. Equinoctial France was a short-lived venture, but one that left an indelible mark upon the island of Sao Luis, in the State of Maranhao, Brazil. Two remarkable reports on the shape of the colony, its geographical features, climate, ethnography, botany, and zoology are among the first contributions to the natural history of Northeastern Brazil. Description of the habits of common animals, together with zoogeographical records are useful for the modem zoologist. This paper brings together the recorded information on the mammals of Maranhao, as described and depicted by two French friars and one Portuguese, who lived in the island during the first half of the XVIth Century.

Worms, slugs and humans: the medical and popular construction of an emerging infectious disease

The identification of the worm Angiostrongylus costaricensis parasitizing land snails and humans in Southern Brazil suggests under-diagnosis and under-notification of patients with abdominal angiostrongyliasis. This article analyzes how the concept of abdominal angiostrongyliasis was constructed in different ways in Costa Rica and Brazil and how these changes affected the understanding of its clinical and epidemiological diagnosis. The research shows that abdominal angiostrongyliasis is, de facto, a sociocultural construct, although the parasites and vectors are real. The analisys also shows the importance of an interdisciplinary approach for understanding disease.

MAMíFEROS DESCRITOS NA PORANDUBA MARANHENSE DE FREI FRANCISCO DOS PRAZERES

The contribution of the Franciscan priest Francisco dos Prazeres to our knowledge of the natural history, geography, history and ethnography of Maranhao in the early XIXth Century appeared in the Revista do Instituto Historico e Geographico do Brazil in 1891. The original manuscript was donated to the Institutos library in 1843, and disapeared. The printed text was a copy, without the orignal map, donated by Colonel Francisco Manoel da Cunha Junior. Fray Francisco was a corresponding member, and a better historian and geographer than a zoologist. This paper summarizes the available information on the zoological expeditions that explored Maranhao. A list of all mammals described in the Poranduba Maranhense is provided, followed by the identification of the species.

The concept of emerging infectious disease revisited

Purpose – To analyze the concept of emerging infectious diseases, departing from the accepted definitions adopted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, USA) and the now classical definition suggested by Grmek (1993, 1995). The emphasis of this chapter is on the roles that socio-economic and cultural changes play on the emergence of diseases. Methodology – Bibliographical research. Findings – Current definitions fail to address all instances of the emergence of disease. In order to illustrate the concept of emergence, we discuss two case studies. The first describes the constitution of abdominal angiostrongyliasis in Costa Rica. The second concerns an outbreak of Chagas disease that took place in 2005 in the state of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Contribution – As a result of our analyses we propose a new classification of instances of emergence and emphasize the importance of an interdisciplinary approach for the understanding of diseases.