The organization started in 1898 as the
Federal SeroTherapy Institute with the objective of developing serum and vaccines against the
bubonic plague. It was located outside
Rio de Janeiro. In addition to the scientific sections, the new regulations also established administrative sections such as the secretariat, maintenance, storeroom, and archives, as well as auxiliary sections, which included photography and microphotography, the library, and the distribution of serums and vaccines, among others. This reorganization allowed for an expansion of the staff, including the hiring of laboratory assistants and technical-administrative personnel. The expansion of these activities also required the development of infrastructure, with the construction of new
stables and pavilions. Among these buildings were the Chemistry Pavilion, which housed the chemistry and mycology laboratories, and the Official Medicines Service. During this period, construction of the Manguinhos Hospital was also completed. Conceived by Oswaldo Cruz and named in his honour, this hospital was established to study contagious diseases and provide patient care, playing a crucial role in assisting patients during the smallpox epidemics of 1925–26 and the yellow fever epidemics of 1928–29. In 1940, the hospital was renamed Hospital Evandro Chagas, in honor of its then-director,
Evandro Chagas. Today the institution has a broad range of responsibilities related to the health and wellbeing of the Brazilian population, functioning as a national institute of health for the Brazilian government. These responsibilities include • hospital and ambulatory care, • health-related research, • development of vaccines, drugs, reagents, and diagnostic kits • research, development and production, • training of public health and health workers, • providing information and communications related to health, science, and technology. The Fiocruz workforce members number over 7,500. Fiocruz includes several fixed facilities in Rio de Janeiro and other locations; however, it contributes to improving health throughout the country, through its support to the Sistema Único de Saúde (Unified Health System, the Brazilian public health system), its proposals on public health policy-making, its research activities, its scientific expeditions, and the reach of its health services and products. Fiocruz is one of the founding members of the
International Association of National Public Health Institutes, a membership organization of
national public health institutes. The foundation has a longstanding collaboration with
GISAID, analyzing and curating
COVID-19 virus data in the Americas, then quickly contributing those genetic sequences to the repository. ==See also==