Emílio Ribas, an administrative physician and sanitarian from São Paulo, was an advocate of the microbiological conception during the long period when he directed the Serviço Sanitário de São Paulo (1898-1917). This article offers a brief analysis of his stance in the fight against yellow fever during the early 20th century, considered a highlight of his career. The scientists and professionals linked to this sanitary agency in São Paulo found themselves in a tense, unstable work environment, where experimental proof played an important role in corroborating new medical-sanitary conceptions and practices. The article takes a close look at the medical experiments on yellow fever directed by Emílio Ribas and conducted at São Paulo’s Hospital de Isolamento in 1902-03. It examines these same studies in an effort to better understand how the significance of yellor fever was transformed and to explore its implications regarding the history of public health in São Paulo.
Emílio Ribas; yellow fever; history of public health; scientific experiments; São Paulo