[Urban space, war and social diseases: the case of infantile trachoma in Valencia,1936-1937]. / Espacio urbano, guerra y enfermedades sociales: el caso del tracoma infantil en Valencia, 1936-1937.

From late 1937 on, there was a resurgence in Spain of endemic diseases such as trachoma. This disease had been controlled since the beginning of the twentieth century, especially during the Second Republic (1931-1936); however, the decline in living conditions and the population displacements during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) facilitated the resurgence of endemic trachoma. This article seeks to analyze the consequences of the Civil War on the struggle against infantile trachoma in Valencia, a city in the rearguard of the Republican zone in which poverty and overcrowding appeared suddenly, an ideal scenario for an outbreak of trachoma.

Desde finales de 1937 tuvo lugar en España un repunte de enfermedades endémicas, como el tracoma. Esta enfermedad había sido controlada desde comienzos del siglo XX, especialmente durante la Segunda República (1931-1936); sin embargo, la degradación de las condiciones de vida y los movimientos de población durante la Guerra Civil española (1936-1939) facilitaron la recrudescencia de la endemia tracomatosa. El objetivo de este artículo es analizar las consecuencias que tuvo la Guerra Civil en la organización de la lucha contra el tracoma infantil en Valencia, una ciudad en la retaguardia republicana donde pronto apareció la miseria y el hacinamiento, escenario ideal para la irrupción del tracoma.

Public health, urban space and social exclusion in postwar Spain: the exanthematic typhus epidemic in the city of Valencia, 1941-1943. / Salud pública, espacio urbano y exclusión social en la España de posguerra: la epidemia de tifus exantemático en la ciudad de Valencia, 1941-1943.

After the Spanish Civil War, poor hygiene and nutritional deficiencies among a large part of Spain's population contributed to the rise of epidemic diseases. Exanthematic typhus posed a challenge to the health authorities, especially during the spring of 1941, when the epidemiological cycle of the disease and the lack of infrastructures combined to create a serious health crisis. The Franco regime, aware that this situation posed a threat to its legitimacy, promptly used social exclusion as part of its health policy against the epidemic. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the case of Valencia, a city that was behind Republican lines during the war, and therefore received successive waves of refugees as Franco's troops advanced.

Tras la Guerra Civil, las deficientes condiciones higiénico-dietéticas de gran parte de la población española favorecieron la aparición de enfermedades epidémicas. El tifus exantemático puso en jaque a las autoridades sanitarias, especialmente durante la primavera de 1941, cuando el ciclo epidemiológico de la enfermedad y la falta de infraestructuras se aliaron para provocar una grave crisis sanitaria. El régimen franquista, consciente de que esta situación dificultaba su legitimación, no dudó en utilizar la exclusión social como parte de su política sanitaria contra esta epidemia. El artículo analiza en profundidad el caso de Valencia, una ciudad que durante la guerra, por hallarse en la retaguardia republicana, había acogido sucesivas oleadas de refugiados a medida que avanzaban las tropas franquistas.

Salud pública, espacio urbano y exclusión social en la España de posguerra: la epidemia de tifus exantemático en la ciudad de Valencia, 1941-1943 / Public health, urban space and social exclusion in postwar Spain: the exanthematic typhus epidemic in the city of Valencia, 1941-1943

Resumen Tras la Guerra Civil, las deficientes condiciones higiénico-dietéticas de gran parte de la población española favorecieron la aparición de enfermedades epidémicas. El tifus exantemático puso en jaque a las autoridades sanitarias, especialmente durante la primavera de 1941, cuando el ciclo epidemiológico de la enfermedad y la falta de infraestructuras se aliaron para provocar una grave crisis sanitaria. El régimen franquista, consciente de que esta situación dificultaba su legitimación, no dudó en utilizar la exclusión social como parte de su política sanitaria contra esta epidemia. El artículo analiza en profundidad el caso de Valencia, una ciudad que durante la guerra, por hallarse en la retaguardia republicana, había acogido sucesivas oleadas de refugiados a medida que avanzaban las tropas franquistas.

Abstract After the Spanish Civil War, poor hygiene and nutritional deficiencies among a large part of Spain's population contributed to the rise of epidemic diseases. Exanthematic typhus posed a challenge to the health authorities, especially during the spring of 1941, when the epidemiological cycle of the disease and the lack of infrastructures combined to create a serious health crisis. The Franco regime, aware that this situation posed a threat to its legitimacy, promptly used social exclusion as part of its health policy against the epidemic. This article provides an in-depth analysis of the case of Valencia, a city that was behind Republican lines during the war, and therefore received successive waves of refugees as Franco's troops advanced.

Rafael Vilar Fiol (1885-1971) and the attempt to found a dental school in Valencia before the Civil War.

During the first third of the 20th century, the dental profession in Spain was disputed by several groups of healthcare professionals, including surgery practitioners and dental technicians. The most intense conflict was between dentists and stomatologists. In the case of Valencia, this struggle became apparent in the attempt to create a dental school during the first Spanish Republican period. This project was supported by the Faculty of Medicine and by the local authorities but was not implemented due to the special interests of practicing dentists and the School of Dentistry in the Central University of Madrid. The institutionalization of dentistry in Valencia was limited to the teaching of an isolated subject in the Faculty of Medicine, preventing the adoption of a university model that would have encouraged the consolidation of the dental profession in all its aspects, not solely in terms of improvements in dental care. Opposition to the project was largely based on a campaign to discredit its main promoter, Rafael Fiol Vilar (1885-1971). This Valencian doctor and dentist is virtually unknown by historians, but he had an excellent academic background and an extraordinary international projection for that time. He may have been ignored because of his exile after the Spanish Civil War and the failure of his project for the University of Valencia.