Carta do editor

Abstract

We on the editorial board of História, Ciências, Saúde -Manguinhos evaluated our journal during a recent meeting, and the results were gratifying in a number of ways. More papers are being submitted all the time, which facilitates planning of future issues. Referees have responded in fine fashion as well. Theirs are substantive contributions that guarantee die quality of approved articles by fostering a productive exchange of correspondence with authors, ensuring a stronger final product. All this has won our journal praise for its quality and recognition within the academic world.It was equally satisfying to verify that our editorial project is gaining a firmer outline, as reflected in its profile of readers. The journal's proposal for interaction between die vast fields of history, the sciences, and health has resulted in new knowledge on the issue of health. At the same time, we have held true to our intended aesthetic lightness and remain open to a breadth of disciplines and forms of expression.In this issue, the theoretical foundations of epidemiology form the topic of two articles by audiors who make their mark with stimulating styles, offering perspectives on new fields of reflection. Gil Sevalho uses contributions from history and geography to explore social time and epidemiological time, highlighting the repercussions of contemporary globalization and the acceleration of time on our understanding of epidemiology-and of emerging diseases in particular. Drawing from lines within safety engineering, epidemiology, and actuary sciences and making reference to molecular biology as well, Luis David Castiel analyzes the complexity of the constaiction of the category 'risk'. He sets out this construct's historical contextualization and world view, along with its repercussions in terms of psychology, socio-cultural aspects, and social communication.Analyzing the relation between epidemiology and history in the case of yellow fever, Rodolpho Telarolli Júnior looks at the process of foreign immigration and the fashioning of healdi policies in die state of São Paulo as of the 1890s.