Comunicação em evento científico
The plague in Oporto, 1899: sanitary measures and the dispute with Lisbon
Título Evento
Plague and the City: Disease, Epidemic Control and the Urban Environment
Ano (publicação definitiva)
2014
Língua
Inglês
País
Reino Unido
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Abstract/Resumo
How did countries respond to epidemic surges? What were the official health procedures to avoid disaster? Using newspapers as the main source of information, my purpose was to establish how the latest scientific news at the time were divulged to unspecialised audiences, what were the main interests and themes and how they were transmitted. With the bubonic plague surge in Oporto in 1899, as in earlier sanitary crisis, such as the cholera morbus epidemic in 1854-56, news and reports of its evolution occupied most of the pages of the daily press. A database of news and advertisements was built in order to analyse the type of information and advice given to the public and the sanitation measures taken by the authorities. Hygiene was a main issue of concern. The reactions of the people to the introduction of sanitation, to quarantine and to all related constrains of an epidemic are fundamental to understand the mentality of the different classes. All these subjects reflect a major issue which was present throughout the nineteenth century in Portugal: the reinforcement of central government and the power dispute between Oporto, an industrial and commercial city, and Lisbon, the capital. This research also contributes to assert the place that Portugal occupied in the scientific community in the last two centuries. The biographies and published work of the doctors in charge, Ricardo Jorge and Câmara Pestana, show us that Portuguese doctors and scientists were up to date with scientific and technological developments. There was circulation of knowledge, even if sometimes it was not properly applied, particularly in rural areas, far from the main cities: Lisbon, Oporto and Coimbra.
Agradecimentos/Acknowledgements
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