Vamos à vacina?: doenças, saúde e práticas médico-sanitárias em Belém (1904 a 1911)

Abstract

Since the end of the nineteenth century until the beginning of the twentieth century, Belém, according to the intendant Antonio Lemos, was known as the “paraense necropolis”. Illnesses and epidemics have been in the focus of the discussion of medical-sanitary practices. The doctor’s hygienism has become recurrent speech of intervention in the inhabitants’ daily Space, where the prophylaxes’ campaigns were considered responsible for the cure of the city. The proposed actions by medical doctors create tensions among inhabitants and public Authorities in face of the alliance between the medical knowledge and the government, topic Which I have chosen to analyze in order to explain the day-to-day of the coercive actions, with The intention of understand such alliance. Analyzing medical articles in the press, literary theoretical, journalists, politicians, Medical reports, government’s messages, photographs and charges, it was possible to follow The meanings attributed by the contemporaries related to epidemics as the smallpox, Tuberculosis and yellow fever, for example, considering the medical knowledge. The Belle Époque in Belém it was no more considered in this paper as a historiographical crystal, in face Of the adversity of anonymous citizens’ way of life. The city has become a laboratory of Experiences that propose to cure it in order to reach such divulged economic development. The city has been left in the doctor’s hands. The consolidation of this alliance has been given To the well-known sanitarian Oswaldo Cruz, that arrived in Belém City in 1910 to fight Against the yellow fever with the complete support of the governor João Coelho. On the other Hand, the cure of the city or “paraense necropolis” has brought out larger significances, Among them, coincidentally, the burial of the amarílico evil, as well as, the burial of colonel Antonio Lemos’ oligarchy.