“Esquistossomose : na qual tudo é difícil, inclusive o nome”: a doença como problema de saúde pública no Brasil (1938-1975)

Abstract

This work investigates the process of identifying schistosomiasis as a sanitary problem in Brazil. It considers the disease as an object of historical analysis, which is not restricted to the biological description of causes, symptoms and treatments, but as a way of apprehending characteristics of a society in a period. In this way, schistosomiasis was approached as an object of study, seeking to observe the elaboration of public health policies and the development of specialized scientific knowledge, in the light of the experience provided by the creation of measures to combat this disease during the 20th century. Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease spread through contact with contaminated water, due to poor access to basic sanitation, which can cause significant economic and social damage in regions that have outbreaks with high incidence rates. This circumstances, when verified, triggered a process of identification of this disease as it threatens public health, in order to impact the socioeconomic development of Brazil. Such arguments were mobilized by doctors, researchers, government and health authorities to create an apparatus for assistance and control of the disease. This study analyzes this process from 1938 to 1975, initially intended to carry out surveys on the incidence of schistosomiasis in a systematic way in several regions of Brazil, from the creation of the Service of Studies of Great Endemics, in 1938. The time frame that marks the conclusion of this research is the creation of the Special Program for the Control of Schistosomiasis in 1975 by the Ministry of Health, as it is an indication of more incisive action of the State in relation to the disease, which, understood as a health problem, was integrated into public policy agenda, with nationwide interventions for its control.