Limits of scientific convictions: epidemics in Rio de Janeiro and Socorro, and the appearance of the crisis in studies on yellow fever (1927-1948)

Author(s)

Aleidys Hernandez Tasco

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Geociências
• Defense date: 2013-02-27

Examining board members

Cristina de Campos; Maria Gabriela Silva Martins da Cunha Marinho; Marko Synésio Alves Monteiro

• Advisor: Cristina de Campos

Abstract

In 1927 the fight against yellow fever seemed to have concluded in American continent. In the first half of the twentieth century, a philanthropic American organization had as primary goal the fight against that outbreak (The Rockefeller Foundation) and, they ensured that epidemic was almost completely eradicated in that time. Nonetheless, two yellow fever outbreaks recorded in Rio de Janeiro in 1928 (Brazil) and Socorro in 1929 (Colombia) put in doubt the prophylactic measures recommended and implemented by the National Agencies of Public Health and the Rockefeller Foundation. This later institution took part in the fight against the disease in both countries. A controversy was established, while those epidemics took place in both countries, due to the discovery made by Stokes, Bauer e Hudson in Africa in 1927, which demonstrated Macacus Rhesus could be easily inoculated with the virus of yellow fever. That discovery eventually rejected the etiological agent theory established by Noguchi in 1919. In this fashion, with the new discovery, the epidemics and the rejecting of Noguchi's theory, a huge distrust grew up in those days, giving the impression that nothing was safe in issues related to yellow fever, and generating a crisis in studies of disease. Therefore, a comparative study from science, policy and technical that both Colombia and Brazil used in fighting against disease is carried out in this research in order to know the experiences developed with the yellow fever. In this manner, this dissertation has two mains objectives. First, the historical process of yellow fever will be analyzed by this research to understand the crisis that prevailed in studies of that disease between 1927 and 1930. For this reason, the multiple local actors, national and international in theoretical and technical field of the disease were analyzed during yellow fever outbreak in 1928-29 in Rio de Janeiro and in 1929 in Socorro. Second, several scientific manifestations against the progress of yellow fever in Brazil and Colombia were also studied from the last two major epidemics recorded in Rio de Janeiro (1928-1929) and Socorro (1929). Thus, controversies between an ideal of universal medical science represented by Rockefeller Foundation and Pan-American Conference, and the local public health practices developed to minimize the propagation of yellow fever in the period between 1930 and 1948 (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/16675-1 - Science and Public Health in Brazil and Colombia: a comparative study on prophylactic measures in the last epidemics of urban yellow fever (1927-1950)
• Grantee: Aleidys Hernandez Tasco
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master