Corumba August 24, 1995
Dear Sir,
We would like to obtain the cooperation in salivarian trypanosomes (Trypanosoma
evansi and T.vivax) of some experienced european scientists for a research project
in the Pantanal, Brazil t to be submited to European Community in March/96.The
Pantanal (the word means swamp) is an area of 140,000 km2 located in the center
of South America.Its fauna is very rich and diverse.There are 230 species of
fishes, 658 species of birds, 80 species of mammals,and 50 species of
reptiles.Extensive beef cattle farms of 10,000 to200,000 hectares occupy the
majority of this floodplain.Its populated by 6,000,000 bovines,400,000 equines and
5,000 buffaloes.The Pantanal is considered the most important beef cattle
production center in Brazil.The trypanosomosis due to Trypanosoma evansi and
and T. vivax is the principal protozoal disease of horses, cattle and wildlife in the
Pantanal. T.evansi causes several hundred deaths of horses and non-estimated
fauna mortality per year.Recently several outbreaks caused high mortality of
horses,for example in a farm 51%( herd with 98 horses)of horses died and other
farm 30 horses in a herd with 40 equines died both due to T.evansi
infection.T.evansi has been found in capybaras(prevalence of 27%),coatis(Nasua
nasua),and vampire bats.We have found a high prevalence(* 30%) in coatis during
the raining season.We have isolated and maintened the parasite by rat and mice
inoculation and cryopreservation. In this year T. vivax caused a high mortality and
abortion of bovines.
I am a scientist working in the EMBRAPA.The EMBRAPA ( Brazilian Corporation for
Agricultural Research) is a public company,attached to the Ministry of
agriculture,acting through 40 research centers in different fields of
agriculture.Present in every state of the federation,under diversified ecological
conditions,is mission is to generate and promote scientific and technological
production in order to make possible sustained develop of agriculture and agro-
industry for well-being of the Brazilian society,through the rational use of natural
resources and environmental protection.The EMBRAPA is responsible for
coordinating the Cooperative Agricultural Research System(SCPA), made up of
various institutions which carry out research in specific knowledge.It has 9,942
employees, 2,117 of which are research scientists (80% have doctorate or master
degrees) and administer a budget of approximately 200 million dollars per
year.Recently, EMBRAPA was assigned the responsability to coordinate the
Brazilian System of Rural Technical Assistance and Extension under a new
organization aimed at sustained development.
EMBRAPA has a wide scope of action in the area of international cooperation,first in
terms of receiving knowledge from other parts of the world in order to use it in
generating appropriate technology and later in transfering it to other
countries,especially those of Central and South America and Africa.
Since its foundation in 1973, EMBRAPA has generated more than 8,000 new
technologies for Brazilian agriculture and agroindustry.
Management of the Pantanal today reflects the dilemma between environmental
protection and economic development in Brazil.With the goal of rational utilization of
the region,the EMBRAPA created the Center for Agricultural Research in the
Pantanal (CPA-Pantanal), based in Corumba.
Founded in 1984,CPA-Pantanal presently has 157 employees,including 47
scientists.Research by CPA-Pantanal emphasizes the sustainable development of
currently existing production systems(cattle raising and fisheries), as well as the
search for alternative production systems for natural resources(crocodile and
capybara breeding ).
The research is interdisciplinary,involving fields such as Animal Production and
Health,Wildlife and Plant Resourses,Geosciences,Limnology,and Economic
aspects of resource exploitation.Field research is perfomed at two research station
with an area of 6,400 hecteres.
Sincerely yours,
Roberto A.M.S.Silva
EMBRAPA/CPA-Pantanal
E-mail: ramss at sede.embrapa.br
