“We did not understand what just what she meant by ‘black vomit’”: Rockefeller Foundation, science, and the 1926 yellow fever epidemic

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes the outbreak of yellow fever in Northeastern Brazil in 1926 and its related scientific developments. After the epidemic, inspections were carried out in cities where outbreaks occurred and elsewhere in order to refute the existence of yellow fever. Additionally, the Rockefeller Foundation created a yellow fever laboratory in Salvador in 1928 as part of a redirection in its activities. This paper uses Brazilian newspapers as well as correspondence, reports, and diaries from the Rockefeller Foundation to understand the specificities of the 1926 epidemic, which was of great importance for the development of international health strategies and actions for controlling yellow fever.

Keywords:
Rockefeller Foundation; yellow fever; international health; key focus theory; scientific knowledge