The Institute of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine of Lisbon and its Research in Medical Microbiology

Abstract

th century, when, following the independence of Brazil and in the middle of tough disputes with the biggest colonizing powers in Europe (namely Germany and United Kingdom) for the possession and domain of its African territories, a national consciousness and pressure for the establishment of “civilizing stations” throughout the Portuguese African empire began to emerge [1]. By this time, it was recognized that no successful fixation of European colonists would be possible without prior control of the biggest tropical endemics that afflicted entire populations in the overseas’ colonies. The specialty of Tropical Medicine, mainly practiced by military doctors, was beginning to be seen as an indispensable complement of the colonization efforts. Indeed, the former Minister of the British colonies Joseph Chamberlain well translated this concern, by stating that “the fight against tropical diseases constitutes the real basis of the politics of colonization” [2]. The important biomedical discoveries in the field of Tropical Medicine by the late 19 th century led to the need for developing and deepening the research and teaching of this medical branch and, ultimately, to the creation, all across Europe, of several schools of Tropical Medicine: Liverpool, London (both in 1899), Hamburg (1900) and Lisbon (1902). Until 1935, the designation of ‘School’ well matched the essential role of the institution in providing support for healthcare in the tropical colonies of the Portuguese empire, aligned with the activities of the closely-located Colonial Hospital of Lisbon. This was carried out not only by the ‘indoors’ activities, but also through permanent and temporary working missions to the colonial territories; these missions assumed a predominant feature of headship in Africa and of advisory in Asia. After 1935, the Institute became formally named as ‘Institute of Tropical Medicine’. This shifting of the name from ‘School’ to ‘Institute’ corresponded to an increasing focus on teaching and research activities, attributes that resemble those of a university institution. During its long story, several internationally renowned entities in the field of Tropical Medicine taught and researched in the Institute, some of them even becoming directors. Some of these personalities were Ayres Kopke (one of the Institute’s founders), Joao Fraga de Azevedo, Francisco Cambournac (appointed in 1954, for the position of Director-General of the WHO for Africa) and Aldo Castellani (world-top specialist in the field of Tropical Medicine, he began to teach in the Institute in 1947). In 1958, the VI th Congress of Tropical Medicine and Malaria took place in the Institute, with the presence of many representatives from international organizations working in Tropical Medicine. It has been argued that the enormous success of this event was perceived in the Portuguese colonies and that such prestigious image rendered undeniable benefits even during the hard periods of active war for independence of the African colonies, when the working missions of the Institute were always allowed to circulate freely and to tackle their field tasks [2]. In 1972, the current ‘Institute of Hygiene and Tropical