O micróbio protagonista: notas sobre a divulgação da bacteriologia na Gazeta Médica da Bahia, século XIX / The protagonist microbe: notes on the communication of bacteriology in the Gazeta Médica da Bahia journal, nineteenth century

Resumo A teoria dos germes, decorrente, em especial, dos trabalhos de Louis Pasteur e Robert Koch, fez estremecer as bases do saber médico a partir da segunda metade do período oitocentista e promoveu uma revolução na “arte de curar”. A busca por micróbios específicos para as doenças norteou as investigações de pesquisadores convertidos aos dogmas pasteurianos. Este trabalho procura mostrar, em linhas gerais, o papel desempenhado pela Gazeta Médica da Bahia no processo de divulgação da bacteriologia junto às comunidades médicas baiana e nacional. O artigo apresenta alguns trabalhos e reflexões de colaboradores do periódico e destaca algumas controvérsias que ajudaram a traçar um panorama da difusão da teoria dos germes pelo Brasil ao longo do século XIX.

Abstract Germ theory, derived particularly from the work of Louis Pasteur and Robert Koch, shook the foundations of medical knowledge in the second half of the nineteenth century and triggered a revolution in the “art of healing.” The search for specific microbes for diseases guided the investigations of the researchers converted to the Pasteurian tenets. This paper aims to show what role the Gazeta Médica da Bahia journal played in spreading knowledge about bacteriology to the medical communities in Bahia and throughout Brazil. Some works and reflections by the newspaper’s authors at the time are presented, as are some of the controversies that help depict the way germ theory was divulged in Brazil throughout the nineteenth century.

Importation et destin de la première théorie des germes au Mexique: développement des premières recherches sur la fièvre jaune dans les années 1880 / Importation and destination of the first germ theory in Mexico: development of the first researches into yellow fever in the 1880s

Ce travail s'inscrit dans le cadre de la discussion du transfert de connaissances entre l'Occident et l'Amérique latine, le Mexique en particulier. Nous essayerons de montrer les enjeux internationaux et locaux qui ont encouragé l'importation de la théorie des germes au Mexique pendant les années 1880. Par ailleurs, on montrera quelles ont été les difficultés conceptuelles et matérielles pour incorporer la théorie des germes et les techniques bactériologiques encore en train de se bâtir en Europe. Au moyen de deux exemples, on essayera de mettre en évidence les intentions politiques des médecins mexicains, à l'origine de l'étude des maladies infectieuses au Mexique.

This article aims to contribute to discussions about knowledge transfer between the West and Latin America, especially Mexico. We seek to show the international and local efforts to foster the importation of germ theory during the 1880s. We also highlight the conceptual and material hurdles which stood in the way of the incorporation of this theory and bacteriology techniques at a time when they were still being developed in Europe. Two examples are given as evidence of the political motivations of Mexican physicians in studying infectious diseases in that country.