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Specialized Medical Studies at Sao Paulo’s Instituto Butantan
Located near the campus of the University of Sao Paulo, the Instituto Butantan is a crucial component of Sao Paulo’s contribution toward Brazilian health research. The Butantan Institute is a Brazilian biomedical research center sponsored and monitored by the State Secretary of Health, and the facility works to develop both basic and applied biomedical research in a variety of health-related fields.
The Instituto Butantan was founded in 1901 by Vita Brazil, a Brazilian biomedical scientist and physicist. It was his dream to create an institution where medical research would be directly applied to society through beneficial health products – and as a result, the institution is renowned today for its breakthrough research on venomous animals, and currently is home to one of the largest serpent collections in the entire world. The Butantan Institution has also earned support as a production house of vaccines against devastating infectious diseases – for example, rabies, diphtheria, hepatitis, tuberculosis, and botulism, among others. Naturally, with the collection it houses, the Institution has also amassed antivenoms for snake and spider bites, scorpion stings, and the like.
In addition to its research work, the Instituto Butantan runs a training program at the graduate research level, generally in the areas of infectology and biotechnology. The facilities are expansive, and the Institution also runs a specialized library and hospital, the Hospital Vital Brazil, alongside its research laboratories and production centers. There is also a strictly monitored animal breeding center where laboratory animals are raised for their scientific use in research and production.
Each year, the Butantan Institution also runs training courses for the army and police forces, educating them in areas such as first aid and identification of venomous snakes and insects – approximately 2,000 people in the public service are trained there every year.
The importance of the Instituto Butantan cannot be understated: in 2001 alone, it produced over 110 million vaccine doses and 300,000 vials of serum for hyper-immune disorders. Not only that, but tourists and the general public are encouraged to learn and understand the role that the Institution plays in the life of Brazilian public health. The Instituto Butantan is one of the major attractions in Sao Paulo, and contains a historical museum, a museum of microbiology, and a museum of general biology, which are both interactive and educational! And if that isn’t enough, there is also a serpentarium or ‘snake pit’, which the entire family is sure to enjoy.
Since the Butantan Institution is a non-profit research and development company, the proceeds from tourist attractions are directly re-invested into research and building maintenance. Workers at the Institution are also paid less than half of what they would earn if they did their research at a university, however the work is so important that the scientists here are willing to make do with what they have. Why not visit the Institution on your visit to Sao Paulo? It’s educational, and you know that your admission goes toward a very good cause.
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