Chronicle of a consolidated success: smallpox eradication policies in Brazil (1962-1973)

Abstract

The aim of this article is to understand actions taken towards smallpox eradica-tion in Brazil, in the framework of the Smallpox Eradication campaign that took place in the 1960s and 1970s. The article argues that, in addition to the bifurcated needle and the lyo-philized vaccine, epidemiological surveillance – based on the construction of instruments and protocols for health surveillance – was the third key element that guaranteed the eradi-cation of the disease. The hypothesis is that the actions taken towards the control and erad-ication of smallpox contributed to the construction of new health institutions within Brazil. As an exercise of socio-historical analysis, this research was based on documentary sources (reports, newsletters and legislation), interviews with professionals directly involved in the eradication of smallpox, and part of the intellectual production on the subject