Histoire et quotidien. « Fièvres » et santé publique: Yannus horribilis à Rio de Janeiro

Almir C. El-Kareh

Histoire, économie & société, 2001, vol. 20, issue 3, 303-319

Abstract: [fre] Résumé Une certaine année, Yannus horribilis 1850, la capitale de l'empire brésilien est attaquée par de multiples «fièvres» dont la pernicieuse et épouvantable fièvre jaune désormais endémique, et, cinq ans après, le non moins terrible choléra. La presse quotidienne de l'époque, aussi bien que la correspondance diplomatique française, constituent, sur ce point, un témoignage précieux, jour après jour, des hauts et des bas d'une calamiteuse conjoncture épidémique. Pour faire front aux dangers encourus, les esprits recherchent des solutions pratiques propres à les éloigner et à en maîtriser les causes supposées: miasmes, foyers d'infection, désordres apportés par l'ordure à la bonne marche de la santé, publique et privée. Là encore, là aussi, la faille avérée, reconnue, identifiée eu égard au temps, aux lieux et aux gens se transforme en levier, pour les entreprises capitalistes naissantes, pour les institutions urbaines et pour les autorités spécifiques d'un jeune État-nation, dont Rio constitue l'emblème, le joyau et la capitale. [eng] Abstract In the annus horribilis of 1850, the capital of the Brazilian empire was assailed by a dreadful epidemic. The population was ravaged by fevers and that most pernicious of diseases, yellow fever, became endemic. Five years later, Rio was attacked by a cholera epidemic that was equally terrible. The daily newspapers of the time, and French diplomatic correspondence, provide us with valuable detail about what life was like during these calamitous times and show us how the population sought practical solutions to ward off disease and worked to tackle the apparent causes of the epidemics. In their efforts to strike at the seats of infection, they had to find ways of dealing with the putrid rubbish and filth that was polluting the atmosphere and making it impossible to provide proper public or private health care. Once again, flaws that were clearly identified and recognized in terms of time, place and people later became levers for change for the nascent capitalist businesses, urban institutions and governmental organisations in the young nation-State in which the capital, Rio, shone out as the jewel in the crown.

Date: 2001
Note: DOI:10.3406/hes.2001.2228
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