A lepra no estado do Espírito Santo (1930-1943): a construção do Leprosário Colónia de Itanhenga

Abstract

This article seeks to present as were performed the steps that led to the construction of the Leprosarium Colonia de Itanhenga, opened in 1937, for the compulsory isolation of lepers that existed in the State of Espirito Santo. For many years, the few cases of leprosy registered in the State led to believe that this was a region indene to this disease. However, with the arrival of the doctor Pedro Fontes, in August 1927, appointed to head the Inspectorate of Prophylaxis of Leprosy and Venereal Diseases, the actual situation was identified. In 1932, after the completion of census conducted in the state, it was confirmed 334 cases of leprosy. Given this situation, Pedro Fontes sought the support of the State Government for the construction of a leprosarium to receive these patients. The construction of this leprosarium was inserted in the restructuring period and centralization of Brazilian public health, which occurred during the Government of President of the Republic Getulio Vargas, between 1930 e 1945, in which it recorded a great attention to leprosy endemic in Brazil. The main action of the policy established by the Minister of Education and Health Gustavo Capanema to prevent the spread of the disease was the construction of leprosarium in different regions of the country. The particular case of the State of Espirito Santo and the construction of Itanhenga Cologne can be valuable for the comparative study of the efforts made by government authorities and civil society in the fight against leprosy in similar historical contexts. For this study were used the following textual sources: documents, letters and forms that belong to the personal archive of Gustavo Capanema, deposited in the Centre of Research and Documentation of Contemporary History of Brazil / Getulio Vargas Foundation; News and articles published in newspapers of the States of Rio de Janeiro and Espirito Santo; books and articles written by the doctor Heraclides Cesar de Souza-Araujo, published in the Instituto Oswaldo Cruz Memories magazine; messages and reports from the State Government of Espirito Santo.