The ratsball: the socio-technical construction of bubonic plague in Rio de Janeiros (1897-1906)

Author(s)

Matheus Alves Duarte da Silva

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: São Paulo.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Filosofia, Letras e Ciências Humanas (FFLCH/SBD)
• Defense date: 2015-07-07

Examining board members

Márcia Regina Barros da Silva; Henrique Luiz Cukierman; Maria Amelia Mascarenhas Dantes

• Advisor: Márcia Regina Barros da Silva

Abstract

The present work discusses the socio-technical construction of the bubonic plague in Rio de Janeiro from 1897 to 1906. It has as theoretical support the actor-network theory and as methodology it follows Brazilian scientists, doctors and politicians in their action against the plague, analyzing the controversies in which they were involved and which socio-technical networks were mobilized by them. Sources used were: scientific papers published in Brazil-Medico, debates published in the daily press and reports from the General Direction of Public Health (Diretoria Geral de Saúde Pública DGSP). The main controversies were around the incubation time, lethality and method of transmission of the disease. Incubation affected directly the amount of days ships would be submitted to quarantine and the Federal Government believed that it lasted 20 days. However, pressure exerted by different actors, such as the Santos Commercial Association, were slowly changing this politic and also the understanding regarding the incubation period and the diseases lethality. In 1904, quarantines against the plague were extinguished from Brazil and it became a consensus that this disease wasnt very lethal and that the incubation time wasnt superior to 10 days. The matter of transmission implied different sanitary actions. In 1900, the Federal Government believed that the disease was transmitted through air or by objects, and therefore adopted actions such as house disinfection and isolation of contaminated people. However, in São Paulo, there was another conception regarding transmission, with the killing of rats being the main sanitary action. In Rio de Janeiro, some characters, such as Ismael da Rocha, were in favor of São Paulos initiative. Therefore, two networks were established, one where rats had an important part and another where they didnt. This last network was victorious until 1903. At that time, Oswaldo Cruz began a rat-killing campaign, which proved to be effective. When rats were considered as responsible for the transmission of the disease, different changes occurred. Disinfections became focused on this animals and a renovation of the city plan was done, with buildings that sealed the entrance of rats and the construction of sewers. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/02255-6 - "The rats' ball": the sociotechnical construction of the bubonic plague in Rio de janeiro (1897-1906)
• Grantee: Matheus Alves Duarte da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master