Memórias da cólera no Pará (1855 e 1991): tragédias se repetem?

Abstract

During the 1991 cholera epidemic in the state of Pará, there were a substantial number of victims. Although those stricken recovered quickly, they were reluctant to leave the hospital. Taking proportions into account, nineteenth-century living conditions were similar to the living conditions confronted by the sick receiving care at the Hospital Universitário João de Barros Barreto (HUJBB). In the twentieth century, apparently the illness was still attached to old structures and conjured up worries that are now unnecessary, since today's treatment is fast-working and effective. Stories of days past quickly surfaced, with terrifying images of the 1855 cholera epidemic. In addition to relying on documental sources, the study analyzed the memories of cholera patients, their relatives, and other actors. Findings allow for a comparison between the epidemics of yesterday and of today, in turn permitting the prediction that such tragedies will be repeated because the living conditions of the nineteenth- and twentieth-century poor remain the same.

Socioenvironmental Factors Influencing Distribution and Intensity of Soil-Transmitted Helminthiasis in the Brazilian Amazon: Challenges for the 2030 Agenda

“…Urbanization processes in the Amazon region often involve the demographic concentration of the population of Amerindian descent in a context of poverty and lack of health infrastructure [1,25]. ese demographic phenomena have created a favourable scenario for the spread of infectious diseases and the region where malaria is hyperendemic was also hit by a cholera epidemic in the 1990s [26]. e Marajó archipelago has cities with a very low HDI, and the region is marked by a high proportion of the population living in poverty.…”