[No Title Available]

Abstract

One of the most striking facts of that administration certainly was the extension of the activities of Chagas' disease control to the whole region of the country known to be endemic because until then, only 25% of this area was covered. The first national survey of prevalence of Chagas' infection and the triatomine entomological survey, identifying the vectors and its geographical distribution in the country, had just been concluded.Resources of FINSOCIAL were available, and it was decided to apply them on expanding the coverage of control activities of this dreadful disease, which affected millions of Brazilian people, to the whole area, characterized as endemic.Antonio Carlos was the one who formulated the strategies, planned, organized, and coordinated the execution of this great mission, which involved hiring and training of hundreds of servers.He was helped in this task by his colleague, great friend, and substitute in the direction of the Division of Chagas' Disease, Dr. Tadayasu Sakamoto.The strategy used was the selective application of insecticide, first by locality and then by infested housing. Started with organochlorine insecticide (BHC), which was later replaced by a pyrethroid, disease control was extremely successful as evidenced by the decline in vector-borne infection in the recently concluded second national survey of prevalence of Chagas' infection and by the elimination of its main vector, Triatoma infestans, as attested by international organizations.