Devastating epidemics in recent ages Greek populations

In the recent Greek ages the most devastating epidemics were plague, smallpox, leprosy and cholera. In 1816 plague struck the Ionian and Aegean Islands, mainland Greece, Constantinople and Smyrna. The Venetians ruling the Ionian Islands effectively combated plague in contrast to the Ottomans ruling all other regions. In 1922, plague appeared in Patras refugees who were expelled by the Turks from Smyrna and Asia Minor. Inoculation against smallpox was first performed in Thessaly by the Greek women, and the Greek doctors Emmanouel Timonis (1713, Oxford) and Jakovos Pylarinos (1715, Venice) made relevant scientific publications. The first leper colony opened in Chios Island. In Crete, Spinalonga was transformed into a leper island, which following the Independence War against Turkish occupation and the unification of Crete with Greece in 1913, was classified as an International Leper Hospital. Cholera struck Greece in 1853-1854 brought by the French troops during the Crimean War, and again during the Balkan Wars (1912-13) when the Bulgarian troops brought cholera to northern Greece. Due to successive wars, medical assistance was not always available, so desperate people turned many times to religion through processions in honor of local saints, for their salvation in epidemics.

[History of human epidemic and endemic diseases in the southwest Indian Ocean]. / Histoire des épidémies et des endémoépidémies humaines dans le sud-ouest de l'océan Indien.

Smallpox has been known in the Mascarene Islands since 1729, and in 1898, the vaccinogenic and anti-rabies Institute of Tananarive, the future Pasteur Institute of Madagascar, was created to combat it. Cholera first arrived in the Mascarenes in 1819, but did not affect the Comoros Islands and Madagascar until the current pandemic. Bubonic plague has beset the ports of Madagascar and the Mascarenes since 1898. Girard and Robic developed the anti-plague vaccine in 1931 at the Pasteur Institute of Madagascar. The Mascarenes lost their reputation as Eden when malaria arrived in 1841, and this disease remains prominent in Madagascar and Comoros. Leprosy has been known in La Réunion since 1726 and is still very present in Mayotte, Anjouan, and Madagascar. Leptospirosis is a public health problem, except in Madagascar and the Comoros. Dengue, chikungunya, and Rift Valley fever are also present. HIV/AIDS is not a major concern, except in Mauritius, where it was spread by injection drug use, in the Seychelles and in Madagascar's largest cities. Madagascar is the principal site worldwide of chromoblastomycosis, first described there in 1914.

[Smallpox in São Paulo (SP, Brazil): history of admissions at the Institute of Infectious Diseases Emilio Ribas between 1898 and 1970]. / A varíola em São Paulo (SP, Brasil): histórico das internações no Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas entre 1898 e 1970.

The objective of this article is to describe the admissions for smallpox at the Institute of Infectious Diseases Emilio Ribas, during the period from 1898 to 1970, showing the origin of the patients' residence in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. It is a descriptive study which used secondary data collected from the record books for admissions at the Institute during the period of 1898 to 1970. The hospital records were counted and grouped into periods of 10 years. The total amount of admissions were 11,393. From the total of 533 deaths, 251 of the patients were female, 280 male and two unknown. These patients resided in 139 different locations. The city of São Paulo contributed with 7915 or 69.5% of the total, followed by Santo André, Mogi das Cruzes, Guarulhos, São Caetano do Sul, Osasco and Suzano. It was seen 237 patients in transit. For 994 admissions the municipality of origin was ignored, despite indications in the records.

A varíola em São Paulo (SP, Brasil): histórico das internações no Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas entre 1898 e 1970 / Smallpox in São Paulo (SP, Brazil): history of admissions at the Institute of Infectious Diseases Emilio Ribas between 1898 and 1970

O objetivo deste artigo é descrever as internações por varíola no Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas, no período de 1898 a 1970, evidenciando-se a origem da residência dos pacientes da região metropolitana de São Paulo. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo retrospectivo, mediante coleta de dados secundários nos livros de registro de internação do IIER no período de 1898 a 1970. As internações foram analisadas segundo variáveis de tempo, lugar e pessoa e agrupadas em períodos de dez anos. Foram registradas 11.393 internações, com 533 óbitos, sendo 251 de pacientes do sexo feminino, 280 do masculino e dois óbitos com sexo ignorado. Esses pacientes residiam em 139 localidades diferentes. O município de São Paulo contribuiu com 7.915 69,5 por cento do total, seguido de Santo André, Mogi das Cruzes, Guarulhos, São Caetano do Sul, Osasco e Suzano. Foram atendidos em trânsito 237 pacientes. Para 994 internações ignora-se o município, apesar de indicações nos prontuários.

The objective of this article is to describe the admissions for smallpox at the Institute of Infectious Diseases Emilio Ribas, during the period from 1898 to 1970, showing the origin of the patients' residence in the metropolitan region of São Paulo. It is a descriptive study which used secondary data collected from the record books for admissions at the Institute during the period of 1898 to 1970. The hospital records were counted and grouped into periods of 10 years. The total amount of admissions were 11,393. From the total of 533 deaths, 251 of the patients were female, 280 male and two unknown. These patients resided in 139 different locations. The city of São Paulo contributed with 7915 or 69.5 percent of the total, followed by Santo André, Mogi das Cruzes, Guarulhos, São Caetano do Sul, Osasco and Suzano. It was seen 237 patients in transit. For 994 admissions the municipality of origin was ignored, despite indications in the records.

Do Lazareto dos Variolosos ao Instituto de Infectologia Emílio Ribas: 130 anos de história da saúde pública no Brasil / From The Lazareto dos Variolosos to The Instituto de Infectologia Emilio Ribas: 130 years of history of public health in Brasil

O livro Do Lazareto dos Variolosos ao Instituto de Infectologia Emilio Ribas _ 130 anos de história da Saúde Pública no Brasil conta a vida de um hospital secular, fundado na época do Império e que se tornou referência na assistência, no ensino e em pesquisa na área de Doenças infecciosas e Parasitárias. (AU)

Disease in Africa: a medical perspective from the 1950s.

So much attention is focused on the current HIV/AIDS epidemic in Africa that there is a tendency to overlook the grievous burden of disease from which the peoples of that Continent have suffered for centuries. This paper, based on letters sent in 1953/54 by a young doctor in Sierra Leone to his parents in Scotland, together with extracts from Makeni Hospital records of the same period, provides a factual account of front-line medicine in West Africa half a century ago.

The Córdoba caliphate and infectious diseases

Durante il Califfato di Cordova e negli anni immediatamente successivi vi fu una intensa fioritura di studi medici, come viene testimoniato dai numerosi documenti relative anche a parecchie malattie di origine microbica quali: tetatno, gangrena, avvelenamenti e tossinfezioni alimentari, colera, peste, meningite, diarrea, dissenteria, infezioni della bocca e dei denti, pustole e foruncoli, infezioni di ferite, impetigine, tonsillite, erisipela, polmonite, infezioni delle vie urinaire, infezioni sessualmente transmesse, otite, congiuntivite, tigna, mughetto, malaria, teniasi, infestazione da pulci, scabbia, vaiolo, morbillo, tracoma, raffreddori, poliomielite e rabbia. Esistono importanti saggi sulla natura contagiosa di queste malattie e sui rimedi terapeutici. I contributi dottrinali maggiormente pregevoli dell'epoca furono dati da autorevoli medici quali Isaac, Arib ibn Said, Abulcasis, Averroè, Maimonide e Al-Gafiqi.

Osler and the skin.

William Osler was the greatest physician of his time. Specialists reading his textbooks agreed that in their own specialities he was accurate and illuminating. His grasp of dermatology was particularly striking and skin changes are prominent in five of the syndromes named after him and in at least 100 of his papers. This paper describes how his early training in dermatology under Tilbury Fox in London and Hebra in Vienna combined with his unusual personal qualities to enable him to make massive contributions to a wide variety of dermatological topics. These include smallpox, cutaneous tuberculosis, nail growth, leprosy, scleroderma, pigmentation and purpuric eruptions as well as the more obvious hereditary haemorrhagic telangiectasia, angio-neurotic oedema and Osler's nodes.

Alastrim, varíola é? / Is allastrim small pox?

Trata de uma controvérsia científica havida em Säo Paulo entre 1910 e 1913, que opôs dois destacados médicos da cidade: Antonio Carini, diretor do Instituto Pasteur de Säo Paulo, e Emílio Ribas, diretor do Serviço Sanitário. A questäo em jogo era a classificaçäo de uma doença que reinava no Estado. Para Carini tratava-se de varíola, para Ribas era uma entidade mórbida chamada de alastrim. A polêmica teve início na Sociedade de Medicina e Cirurgia e, posteriormente, migrou para outros fóruns, incorporando novos personagens. A apresentaçäo e discussäo dessa controvérsia objetiva contribuiu para a compreensäo do processo de construçäo e estabilizaçäo de um consenso científico no campo das ciências biomédicas.

Alastrim, varíola é? / Is allastrim small pox?

Trata de uma controvérsia científica havida em Säo Paulo entre 1910 e 1913, que opôs dois destacados médicos da cidade: Antonio Carini, diretor do Instituto Pasteur de Säo Paulo, e Emílio Ribas, diretor do Serviço Sanitário. A questäo em jogo era a classificaçäo de uma doença que reinava no Estado. Para Carini tratava-se de varíola, para Ribas era uma entidade mórbida chamada de alastrim. A polêmica teve início na Sociedade de Medicina e Cirurgia e, posteriormente, migrou para outros fóruns, incorporando novos personagens. A apresentaçäo e discussäo dessa controvérsia objetiva contribuiu para a compreensäo do processo de construçäo e estabilizaçäo de um consenso científico no campo das ciências biomédicas.(AU)

[Is allastrim small pox?]. / Alastrim, variola e?

Between 1910 and 1913, two renowned physicians in the city of Sao Paulo found themselves engaged in a scientific controversy regarding the classification of a disease then assailing the state. Antonio Carini, director of the Instituto Pasteur de Sao Paulo, believed the illness to be small pox, while Emilio Ribas, director of the Servico Sanitario, claimed it was allastrim, or milk pox. The controversy started in the Sociedade de Medicina e Cirurgia but later migrated to other forums and came to incorporate other figures as well. This presentation and discussion of the polemic is meant as a contribution to our understanding of the process by which a scientific consensus is constructed and solidified within the field of the biomedical sciences.

Causes of death in a subarctic population.

Some of the main causes of death prior to 1900 are mentioned, including disastrous epidemics of high mortality such as plague, smallpox and the so-called hunger epidemics. Also discussed are two chronic diseases remarkable for Iceland in old times i.e., leprosy and hydatid disease. In the first third of the 20th century, infectious diseases still were the main cause of death in Iceland. The importance of tuberculosis in this connection is stressed. The very high infant mortality up to the beginning of this century is stressed. The changes in the main causes of death in the last decades are described and the growing influence of degenerative vascular diseases and cancer in that connection pointed out. Last, the remarkable fall in the infant mortality and increasing life expectancy from the beginning of this century with growing prosperity of the nation is stressed.