The village of Vieiras: a 1895 report of a typhoid fever epidemic in rural Brazil

Kátia Maria Nunes Campos, Centro de Desenvolvimento e Planejamento Regional (CEDEPLAR)

This article is a case study based on a 1895 report on a typhoid fever epidemics in a Brazilian rural village, produced by the graduated pharmacist Francisco de Paula Machado de Castro, a government delegate. The Castro report is analyzed under the argument that it may be considered as representative of the late 19th century’s scientific thought and analytical skills of the health technical agents responsible for the making and application of the health public policies. The status of the scientific knowledge and resources available locally and in the Province of Minas Gerais were elected as the theoretical background, in a period generally accepted as consistent with the Brazilian epidemiological transition. As additional data sources, the author used some relevant administrative and demographic information from the 19th century series of the Bi-annual Reports of the Presidency of the Province of Minas Gerais, from the administrative years of 1855 to 1890.