The reality of scientific research in Latin America; an insider’s perspective

There is tremendous disparity in scientific productivity among nations, particularly in Latin America. At first sight, this could be linked to the relative economic health of the different countries of the region, but even large and relatively rich Latin American countries do not produce a good level of science. Although Latin America has increased the number of its scientists and research institutions in recent years, the gap between developed countries and Latin American countries is startling. The prime importance of science and technology to the development of a nation remains unacknowledged. The major factors contributing to low scientific productivity are the limited access to grant opportunities, inadequate budgets, substandard levels of laboratory infrastructure and equipment, the high cost and limited supply of reagents, and inadequate salaries and personal insecurity of scientists. The political and economic instability in several Latin America countries results in a lack of long-term goals that are essential to the development of science. In Latin America, science is not an engine of the economy. Most equipment and supplies are imported, and national industries are not given the incentives to produce these goods at home. It is a pity that Latin American society has become accustomed to expect new science and technological developments to come from developed countries rather than from their own scientists. In this article, we present a critical view of the Latin American investigator’s daily life, particularly in the area of biomedicine. Too many bright young minds continue to leave Latin America for developed countries, where they are very successful. However, we still have many enthusiastic young graduates who want to make a career in science and contribute to society. Governments need to improve the status of science for the sake of these young graduates who represent the intellectual and economic future of their countries.     

Visceral Leishmaniasis and HIV Coinfection in Latin America

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is an endemic zoonotic disease in Latin America caused by Leishmania (Leishmania) infantum, which is transmitted by sand flies from the genus Lutzomyia. VL occurs in 12 countries of Latin America, with 96% of cases reported in Brazil. Recently, an increase in VL, primarily affecting children and young adults, has been observed in urban areas of Latin America. The area in which this spread of VL is occurring overlaps regions with individuals living with HIV, the number of whom is estimated to be 1.4 million people by the World Health Organization. This overlap is suggested to be a leading cause of the increased number of reported VL-HIV coinfections. The clinical progression of HIV and L. infantum infections are both highly dependent on the specific immune response of an individual. Furthermore, the impact on the immune system caused by either pathogen and by VL-HIV coinfection can contribute to an accelerated progression of the diseases. Clinical presentation of VL in HIV positive patients is similar to patients without HIV, with symptoms characterized by fever, splenomegaly, and hepatomegaly, but diarrhea appears to be more common in coinfected patients. In addition, VL relapses are higher in coinfected patients, affecting 10% to 56.5% of cases and with a lethality ranging from 8.7% to 23.5% in Latin America, depending on the study. With regards to the diagnosis of VL, parasitological tests of bone marrow aspirates have proven to be the most sensitive test in HIV-infected patients. Serologic tests have demonstrated a variable sensitivity according to the method and antigens used, with the standard tests used for diagnosing VL in Latin America displaying lower sensitivity. For this review, few articles were identified that related to VL-HIV coinfections and originated from Latin America, highlighting the need for improving research within the regions most greatly affected. We strongly support the formation of a Latin American network for coinfections of Leishmania and HIV to improve the consistency of research on the current situation of VL-HIV coinfections. Such a network would improve the collection of vital data and samples for better understanding of the clinical manifestations and immunopathogenic aspects of VL in immunosuppressed patients. Ultimately, a concerted effort would improve trials for new diagnostic methodologies and therapeutics, which could accelerate the implementation of more specific and effective diagnosis as well as public policies for treatments to reduce the impact of VL-HIV coinfections on the Latin American population.     

A epistemometric view of some biological disciplines in Chile

During the last decade the articles published by Chilean Research Centers grew 1,73 which compares to the 2.34 fold increase of mainstream research articles registered as a whole in Latin America. However, the relative impact of the Chilean publications surpassed that of Latin America. In Biological Sciences, traditionally the strongest research area within Chile, Latin America also shows a steeper slope of growth. Qualitatively, biological disciplines in Chile are comparable to those published in Latin America although in Chile there are specialties as Physiology that surpass the average world's impact. The scientometric data is consistent with the fall in individual grants that the Chilean Research Fund (FONDECYT) has been allocating during the last decade.     

Histoplasmosis: Epidemiology in Latin America

Histoplasmosis is a frequent health problem in Latin American countries, but the fact that it is not a reportable disease prevents reliable estimates of its real incidence and impact on public health. Epidemiologic and clinical data remain patchy in general, and in some countries the information available is very limited. Histoplasmosis has a significant public health impact in susceptible populations such as immunosuppressed individuals, in whom the disease is associated with poor outcomes. Limited availability of diagnostic tools in many regions of Latin America is an additional problem, as many patients are already severely ill by the time of the diagnosis. Efforts are therefore necessary to ensure early diagnosis and appropriate treatment, limit the severity of the disease manifestations, and reduce morbidity and mortality. This paper reviews important aspects of the epidemiology of histoplasmosis, the most clinically significant endemic mycosis in Latin America.     

Latin American healthcare systems in times of pandemic

The COVID‐ 19 pandemic is a critical test for the already overburdened and mostly underfunded public healthcare systems of Latin America. In a region that suffers from severe inequalities, public healthcare systems are the only source of medical care for a large sector of the population who work in the informal economy or are unemployed. State‐run hospitals and clinics are already overstressed by continuous demand for treatment of vector‐borne diseases and community‐acquired infections as well as high rates of non‐communicable diseases. Ideological misconceptions and denial among Latin America’s political leaders prevented timely preparations for the pandemic and added to chronic governance problems. As ethical expertise in Latin America focuses on research ethics, few hospitals in the region have functioning clinical ethics committees or clinical ethics policy, forcing healthcare personnel to make excruciating treatment decisions in an environment dominated by material scarcity and public distrust. This essay examines the emergence of COVID‐19 in Latin America and the serious challenge that it poses for Latin America's public healthcare systems.     

Whither Latin America? Trends and challenges of science in Latin America

Science in Latin America has experienced vigorous growth in the past decade, as demonstrated by the fact that the Latin American share of the world's scientific publications increased from 1.8% in 1991-1995 to 3.4% in 1999-2003. Significant growth has also taken place in the numbers of PhDs in science and engineering (S&E) awarded in Latin American countries in recent years, including those in the natural sciences. Importantly, albeit at different rates, growth has been verified in almost all countries in the region, indicating a general effort to promote the development of S&E. In most research fields, however, the recognition or relative impact of Latin American science, as measured by the average number of citations received by published articles (CpP), is still below world averages and much lower than in developed nations. We show that average CpP values for a set of 34 representative developing and developed countries correlate significantly with gross expenditure in research and development (GERD), with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and with the number of researchers per million inhabitants (RpM). Among those countries, Latin American nations present some of the lowest average values of CpP (<6), GERD (< or =1% of GDP) and RpM (<2,000). We also examined recent trends in scientific activity in Latin America, with focus on the natural sciences and on biochemistry and molecular biology (BMB). In terms of citation scores, publications in BMB compare favorably to those in other research fields within Latin America. At the same time, however, Latin American BMB is one of the areas for which relative impact--compared to developed nations or normalized to world averages--is lowest. These observations clearly indicate the need to establish effective policies to increase competitiveness in terms of the quality and international recognition of Latin American natural sciences in general, and BMB in particular, as opposed to merely increasing the absolute numbers of publications or the numbers of PhDs awarded in the region.     

Hunting as a Source of Local and Traditional Ecological Knowledge among Campesinos in Nicaragua

Campesinos are the most numerous hunters in Latin America. Yet, local and traditional knowledge (LTK) among campesinos about hunting is often invisible to conservationists who perceive them as nonindigenous or illegal hunters. Moreover, research and methods for accessing campesino hunting LTK are limited in theory and practice. Conservationists therefore know little about campesinos’ cultural understandings of hunting. We assessed the LTK of Nicaraguan campesinos to determine whether they shared cultural hunting knowledge. Through 11 months of ethnographic fieldwork, an ethnoecology framework, and cultural consensus analysis, we found that campesino hunting LTK was shared across the study community. This knowledge extended from a worldview that emphasized subsistence and hunting secrets to ensure bountiful harvests, expressed through folk taxonomies, hunting strategies, campesino-dog relationships, and preparation of hunted animals. Campesino hunting LTK emerged from campesino culture, yielding numerous implications for conservation in Latin America.

     

Admixture studies in Latin America: from the 20th to the 21st century

The present study is a review of admixture studies in Latin America, an interesting subject because of the unique history of the area, in which populations from 3 different origins had contact and intercrossed. The most often used methods of analysis of admixture in Latin America and some problems related to them, such as the determination of the parental populations and selection of genetic markers, are briefly reviewed. Several sources of data for admixture studies (surnames, quantitative traits, proteins, and molecular information) are summarized. The results obtained using protein systems and blood groups, the most often used markers in Latin America, are considered. They are classified according to their application in 3 groups of populations: urban centers, native Americans, and African-descended subjects. The data show that almost every population is dihybrid or trihybrid, and when African influence is not detected, it is probably due more to the method than to an absence of that contribution. A special section is dedicated to the direction of gene flow, and results about directional mating based on mtDNA, Y-chromosome, and nuclear DNA or proteins are also given. From these studies it is possible to conclude that Amerindian admixture came mainly from female lineages, but it is difficult to establish what happened with the African contribution. A last subject considered is the relation between interethnic crosses and diseases; it is easy to analyze that relation when the pathological condition is related to a unique allele, but when complex diseases are considered, the results are not as clear because of the influence of nongenetic factors. Finally, the perspectives for admixture studies in the 21st century are considered, and some attempts to predict their future in Latin America are made.     

Amphibian Population Declines in Latin America: A Synthesis1

The loss of global amphibian biodiversity has been well documented in recent years. The greatest information from Latin America came from countries such as Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, and Puerto Rico. The five papers in this special section illustrate the critical status of Latin American amphibians and further demonstrate certain commonalities of amphibian population declines within the region. These studies provide a framework by which future research and management could proceed in all tropical regions.     

Integrated control of Chagas disease for its elimination as public health problem - A Review

Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is, together with geohelminths, the neglected disease that causes more loss of years of healthy life due to disability in Latin America. Chagas disease, as determined by the factors and determinants, shows that different contexts require different actions, preventing new cases or reducing the burden of disease. Control strategies must combine two general courses of action including prevention of transmission to prevent the occurrence of new cases (these measures are cost effective), as well as opportune diagnosis and treatment of infected individuals in order to prevent the clinical evolution of the disease and to allow them to recuperate their health. All actions should be implemented as fully as possible and with an integrated way, to maximise the impact. Chagas disease cannot be eradicated due because of the demonstrated existence of infected wild triatomines in permanent contact with domestic cycles and it contributes to the occurrence of at least few new cases. However, it is possible to interrupt the transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in a large territory and to eliminate Chagas disease as a public health problem with a dramatic reduction of burden of the disease.     

Correlates and determinants of child anthropometrics in Latin America: background and overview of the symposium.

In Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) about one in six children under 5 years of age--or about 9 million children--suffer from longer-run undernourishment reflected in stunting. This paper introduces, places in perspective and presents a common micro analytical framework for the seven papers in this symposium that investigate the household and community determinants of child malnourishment in eight countries in LAC. These papers are the outcomes of a research project supported by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Research Department Latin American and Caribbean Research Network Project on "Child Health, Poverty and the Role of Social Policies" in 2003-2004.     

Special Issue on Genetics and Plant Conservation in Latin America

This Special Issue provides an overview of the current status of plant conservation genetics in Latin America. We begin with a thorough review that summarizes the scope and depth of research in this area. Several case studies then exemplify current trends and highlight the importance of integrating genetics and conservation in Latin American, and plant research in general.     

Seaweeds: an opportunity for wealth and sustainable livelihood for coastal communities

The European, Canadian, and Latin American seaweed industries rely on the sustainable harvesting of natural resources. As several countries wish to increase their activity, the harvest should be managed according to integrated and participatory governance regimes to ensure production within a long-term perspective. Development of regulations and directives enabling the sustainable exploitation of natural resources must therefore be brought to the national and international political agenda in order to ensure environmental, social, and economic values in the coastal areas around the world. In Europe, Portugal requires an appraisal of seaweed management plans while Norway and Canada have developed and implemented coastal management plans including well-established and sustainable exploitation of their natural seaweed resources. Whereas, in Latin America, different scenarios of seaweed exploitation can be observed; each country is however in need of long-term and ecosystem-based management plans to ensure that exploitation is sustainable. These plans are required particularly in Peru and Brazil, while Chile has succeeded in establishing a sustainable seaweed-harvesting plan for most of the economically important seaweeds. Furthermore, in both Europe and Latin America, seaweed aquaculture is at its infancy and development will have to overcome numerous challenges at different levels (i.e., technology, biology, policy). Thus, there is a need for regulations and establishment of “best practices” for seaweed harvesting, management, and cultivation. Trained human resources will also be required to provide information and education to the communities involved, to enable seaweed utilization to become a profitable business and provide better income opportunities to coastal communities.