O institutetthe Butantan is a Brazilian biomedical research center, located in São Paulo stateand founded in 1901. Butantan is an institution recognized worldwide as one of the main scientific research centers in the field of public health.
Among the institute's main responsibilities is the production of immunobiologicals for the manufacture of serums and vaccines in Brazil. Butantan is linked to the São Paulo State Department of Health and acts, with the Ministry of Health, in the National Immunization Program (PNI), providing its inputs to the Brazilian population free of charge fur Unified Health System (SUS).
The foundation of the institution is scientific research in the health area and, therefore, Butantan is also well known for housing in its facilities scientific zoological collections, like snakes and arthropods. The institute is a reference in the production of immunotherapeutic serums, used to recover victims of accidents caused by snakes, spiders, scorpions, centipedes and other poisonous animals.
Read too: IBGE – Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics
History of the Butantan Institute
![Instituto Butantan is located in São Paulo and has over one hundred years of history. [1]](/f/77448df1047223a732156940966ec9fb.jpg)
THE plaguebubonic, More known as PThis one black, began to spread in the state of São Paulo in mid-1899. The outbreak spread from the port of Santos (SP), and to find a measure of contain the spread of the disease, the public administration of São Paulo decided that it should create a laboratory to produce the medication that would fight the plague.
The disease is caused by a bacteria found in fleas found on infected mice. When fleas come into contact with humans, disease transmission takes place. With this, the government acquired the land of Fazenda Butantan, in the west side of São Paulo, to install the laboratory, which was linked to the Bacteriological Institute (currently Instituto Adolfo Lutz).
It was in 1901 that the laboratory became an autonomous institution. and received the name of Instituto Serumtherápico. Later, in 1925, it became the current Instituto Butantan and its first director was the physician Vital Brazil, an internationally recognized immunologist.
Very famous for its relationship with snakes in Brazil, Butantan inaugurated the serpentarium in 1912. As Brazil excelled in coffee production, people who worked in rural areas were being injured by snakes, and with many poisonous species, the number of deaths began to worry, as the situation, in addition to the plague, also affected the development of region.
At the time, the treatment for snake bites was still little known, and, with the research work carried out at the institute, soon the production of antivenom serums do Butantan became known around the world.
Over the years, the institute's researches were naturally expanding-if for areas such as herpetology (a branch of zoology dedicated to the study of reptiles and amphibians), immunology, microbiology and others. Consequently, the budget allocated to the institute was expanded, as well as the institution's headquarters, transforming Butantan into the most important research institution in the state and one of the main ones in Brazil and of the world.
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Fire in Butantan
In day May 15, 2010, a large fire caused by a short circuit from an electrical overload, it hit one of the study halls of the Butantan Institute and destroyed, in a few hours, the largest collection of snakes in the world.
The damage from the fire was considered gigantic for scientific research, considering that destroyed thousands of specimens from the Institute's Scientific Collection of Serpents, Spiders and Scorpions.
The animals were dead and were preserved in formaldehyde and alcohol inside glass jars, and, as the material is flammable, this contributed to the spread of fire. The collection contained over a hundred years of research, had: 85 thousand specimens of snakes, 450 thousand specimens of spiders and scorpions, some not yet classified by biologists. There were many animals of rare and extinct species.
See too: What was lost in the National Museum fire?
Butantan vaccines
The prevention of many serious diseases is done through vaccination, and the institute produces several vaccines to protect the Brazilian population. In order to be able to carry out all the demand, the institute has a advanced technology structure to generate vaccine antigens and external laboratories.
See the vaccines already developed by Butantan:
Trivalent seasonal influenza vaccine (fragmented and inactivated)
Hepatitis A adsorbed vaccine (inactivated)
Hepatitis B adsorbed vaccine (recombinant)
Human papillomavirus vaccine types 6, 11, 16 and 18 (recombinant)
Rabies vaccine (inactivated)
DTP, DT and dT vaccine
DTPa vaccine
→ Coronavirus (Covid-19)
Before the pandemic of the coronavirus faced between 2020 and 2021, a worldwide mobilization started the production of the vaccine against the Covid-19(SARS-CoV-2). Numerous scholars and drug manufacturers have started to work with partnerships in favor of developing the vaccine of immunization against this type of virus, which has infected more than 100 million people and killed more than two million in the world.
With that, the Instituto Butantan decided to establish a partnership with Sinovac Biotech, a Chinese biopharmaceutical that had already developed the vaccine for SARS-CoV-1, a virus from the same family that caused an epidemic of SARS, in China, between 2002 and 2004.
![Butantan was responsible for the production of the vaccine against the coronavirus in Brazil. [2]](/f/0eb870e8c3056479b15e9988273f1650.jpg)
The partnership allowed Butantan and Sinovac to be together in the processes of research, studies, tests and CoronaVac vaccine development, against Covid-19. Phases 1 and 2 of tests were carried out in China, and, at the end of 2020, a team from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) was sent to the factory at Sinovac to check the production of vaccine materials and validate the partnership, granting the pharmacist the Certification of Good Manufacturing Practices for Medicines.
The validation allowed Phase 3 of tests to be carried out in Brazil, and the raw material from Sinovac was sent to Butantan so that the institute could start producing the vaccine here. The partnership between the two institutions allowed the exchange of information about the vaccine, but CoronaVac production was carried out at Butantan.
On January 17, 2020, Coronavac was approved by Anvisa for emergency use and the first stage of vaccination began in Brazil, in the state of São Paulo. The first person to be vaccinated was 54-year-old nurse Mônica Calazans, who works in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Hospital Emílio Ribas, on the front line of combating Covid-19.
In late March 2021, the Butantan Institute announced that it had developed the first 100% national vaccine against Covid-19: the ButanVac. If authorized by Anvisa, Butantan must start phases 1 and 2 of tests in April. ButanVac was fully developed and produced at the institute, without the need to import the API (Active Pharmaceutical Input).
Also access: Coronavirus: the family of viruses that caused the C pandemicovid-19
→ Swine flu (H1N1)→
In 2009, there was an outbreak of swine flu, also known as flu A or influenza A. The case records were made in the Mexico, U.S, Canada, Brazil and other countries. The preventive vaccine in Brazil was also responsible for the production of the Butantan Institute to provide the immunizing agent to Brazilians.
Butantan Serums
Also responsible for production of various types of serum against venomous animals, the institute reserves the solution to treat several accidents with this type of animal. Generally, Butantan antivenom serums are sent to other states for immediate treatment of victims.
![Professionals work safely for the production of medicines. [3]](/f/b97ad29108db1811e0fd348ed1a5bf8c.jpg)
See the serums already developed by Butantan:
Antibotropic serum (pentavalent)
Antibotropic (pentavalent) and antilachetic serum
anticrotalic serum
Antibotropic (pentavalent) and anticrotalic serum
Anti-Elapid serum
antiscorpion serum
Anti-arachnidic serum (loxosceles, Phoneutria and Tityus)
antilonomic serum
antidiphtheria serum
tetanus serum
AB antibotulinum serum
anti-rabies serum
Curiosities about Butantan
![The park is popular for leisure activities with family and friends. [4]](/f/db9e690659d65563a10246054acb6825.jpg)
The Butantan Institute is located on Avenida Vital Brasil, in the Butantã region, in São Paulo/SP. In addition to the research and production laboratories, Butantan is also a tourist attraction of the city of São Paulo and has museums and parks that attract visitors daily.
Visitors can access:
to the Biological Museum;
to the Microbiology Museum;
to the Historical Museum;
to the Emílio Ribas Museum;
to the Monkey;
to the Serpentarium;
to the Reptilary;
to the Butantan Institute Park.
Some of the attractions require tickets that can be purchased at the institution's box office. The most visited is the serpentarium, which allows the observation of snakes in an environment similar to their habitat.
In the park, entry is free, and with an area of 750,000 m², it is possible to find several trees considered rare. THE extensive green area it acts as an important refuge for biodiversity, in addition to improving the quality of life of the surrounding population. In the park there is also historic buildings, research labs and some of the museums, also including a large industrial complex, responsible for the production of vaccines and serums. People often visit it with family and friends for recreational and leisure activities.
Read too: History of the National Museum – institution created through a decree of d. John VI
Butantan courses
The Butantan Institute is also a recognized education center, and through the Instituto Superior Butantan Institute, offers:
postgraduate courses;
master's degrees;
specializations in health;
internship programs;
university extension courses;
scientific dissemination courses and many others directly and indirectly linked to the areas that work in health.
Medical care
Since 1945, Hospital Vital Brazil (HVB) offers 24-hour free service for victims of accidents with venomous animals. The hospital is recognized as one of the most important references in the area of animal poisoning, and maintains and has 10 beds for observation or hospitalization of victims.
In addition to care, the HVB plays an important role in research lines for the treatment of human accidents caused by poisonous animals.
Image credits
[1] Horus 2017 / Shutterstock
[2] rafapress / Shutterstock
[3] Butantan Institute
[4] Luiz Barrionuevo / Shutterstock
By Giullya Franco
Journalist