The article analyzes the historical process by which Chagas disease, discovered in 1909, has been constructed as a specific medical entity and a public health issue in Brazil. Focusing on the role played by an Oswaldo Cruz Institute research post created in rural Minas Gerais in 1943, it proposes that the work carried out at this post was responsible for reaching a basic consensus that allowed the disease to attain scientific and social legitimacy. The meanings assigned to Chagas disease during this process were directly related to debates about the connections between science, health and development within the context of the World War II.
Chagas disease; science; public health