María Isabel Porras Gallo, María José Báguena Cervellera, Mariano Ayarzagüena Sanz, and Noelia Maria Martín Espinosa (eds), La erradicación y el control de las enfermedades infecciosas
The Eradication of Poliomyelitis in Spain: Projects, Obstacles, Achievements, Realities
he main aim of our paper is to provide a historical approach to the complex process undertaken in Spain to achieve the official WHO certificate of polio eradication in 2002, within the framework of the initiatives launched in the WHO European Region. At the time of the first meeting of the European Regional Commission for the Certification of Poliomyelitis Eradication in 1996, the epidemiological situation and levels of vaccination cover (over 90%) enabled Spain, like other countries, to ensure compliance with the conditions set by the World Health Organization. This showed that the country, at the end of the twentieth century, had achieved high public health standards, which is remarkable …
El parasitismo en la obra de José Eugenio Olavide : dermatología general y clínica iconográfica de enfermedades de la piel o dermatosis (1871)
En el siglo XIX, la idea de un pathsito vegetal como origen de alguna enfermedad comenzó a cristalizar en torno a la década dé los 30. Su inicio puede fijarse en los trabajos que sobre la muscardina del gusano de seda realizó Agostino Bassi, quien descubrió que dicha enfermedad era causada por un hongo parà.sito. Este hecho le llevo a formular la teoría del origen parasitario de las enfermedades infecciosas. Desde entonces, y hasta los arios 50, se aceptó la etiología fúngica de algunas enfermedades, pero no la teoría de los gérmenes como causa del resto de las enfermedades infecciosas.
Los saberes en torno a la tuberculosis en Valencia a través de la prensa médica (1882-1914)
Para la realización de este trabajo se ha partido del interés que tiene estudiar la literatura científica que a finales del siglo XIX y principios del XX dedicó una sociedad como la valenciana al tema de la tuberculosis, de primera importancia no solo en la realidad epidemiológica de la época, sino también para la constitución de la ciencia y las prácticas médicas contemporáneas. Se ha abordado el estudio de los saberes en torno a la tuberculosis en Valencia a través de las revistas médicas publicadas en ella entre 1882 y 1914, periodo en el que se descubrió el origen microbiano de la enfermedad y se desarrollaron nuevas técnicas diagnósticas, preventivas y curativas de la infección tubercu…
The role played by doctors, the Government and the who in the implementation of poliomyelitis, measles and rubella serological surveys in Spain (1958-1978)
Serological surveys, which acquired considerable importance in the mid twentieth century, are still a key tool to address infectious diseases. This article, using archival and printed sources from the WHO and the medical and general press, analyses the role of doctors and scientists, government, and the WHO in the implementation of serological surveys to evaluate the situation of poliomyelitis, measles and rubella in Spain and to set up a plan of action against them. The paper shows the role of Florencio Pérez Gallardo and his group at the National School of Health, favoured by the Franco regime to receive the support of WHO collaborative programmes after Spain joined in 1951, and the impac…
Jonas Salk. A Life
The author of this extensive biography is Professor Emerita of Medicine at Stanford University, specialising in the research and treatment of cancer. As a biographer of prominent scientists, she ha...
Spain and the international scientific conferences on polio, 1940s-1960s
The development of international health from a historical point of view has undergone major advances in recent times and constitutes a substantial part of the current agenda for historians of medicine. Within this framework, and focussing on a specific case study (international responses to poliomyelitis outbreaks in the 20th century), we explore the main actions and achievements of agencies such as the WHO and other private and international scientific organizations. Furthermore, this paper seeks to identify the Spanish presence and absence in these activities, their causes and consequences.
El papel desempeñado por los programas país de la Organización Mundial de la Salud en el desarrollo de la virología en España, 1951-1975
Abstract Within the framework of recent historiography about the role of the World Health Organization (WHO) in modernizing public health and the multifaceted concept of global health, this study addresses the impact of the WHO’s “country programs” in Spain from the time it was admitted to this organization in 1951 to 1975. This research adopts a transnational historical perspective and emphasizes attention to the circulation of health knowledge, practices, and people, and focuses on the Spain-0001 and Spain-0025programs, their role in the development of virology in Spain, and the transformation of public health. Sources include historical archives (WHO, the Spanish National Health School),…