The dangers of infection: school medical inspection in Brazil (the 1910s)

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the introduction of school medical inspection (SMI) in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo (Brazil) during the 1910s, in a process aligned with the international debate that, since the late nineteenth century, sustained the need of services that focused on the sanitary inspection of schools and their students. It analyzes the purposes guiding the creation of these services and their connections to the spheres of public health and education, highlighting the role taken by the concerns about issues such as the control of infectious diseases, particularly tuberculosis.

The study consists of a historical analysis using as sources the legislation and documents produced by the SMI. The documents are examined in correlation with the positions defended at international conferences held at the period.

The study evidences the intricacies of the introduction of SMI services in the Brazilian states that were pioneers in this area. It examines their relations to guidelines established in international forums, which certainly played an important role in the Brazilian efforts. It also allowed to highlight the relations between efforts to create medical inspections in school and those aiming at fighting infectious diseases.

The paper contributes to a better comprehension of the efforts regarding social hygiene and particularly the hygiene of schools and their students in a period in which the state takes greater responsibilities for its population.