Oswaldo Cruz

Oswaldo Cruz
Born	Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz August 5, 1872 São Luís do Paraitinga, São Paulo, Empire of Brazil
Died	February 11, 1917(1917-02-11) (aged 44) Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nationality	Brazilian
Citizenship	Brazilian
Alma mater	Federal University of Rio de Janeiro
Scientific career
Fields	Physician
Institutions	Instituto Oswaldo Cruz

Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz (Portuguese pronunciation: [ozˈvawdu ˈkɾus]; August 5, 1872 – February 11, 1917), was a Brazilian physician, pioneer bacteriologist, epidemiologist and public health officer and the founder of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute.^[1]

He occupied the fifth chair of the Brazilian Academy of Letters from 1912 until his death in 1917.^[2]

Early years

Oswaldo Gonçalves Cruz was born on August 5, 1872, in São Luis do Paraitinga, a small city in São Paulo Province, to the physician Bento Gonçalvez Cruz and Amália Bulhões Cruz. As a child, he moved to Rio de Janeiro with his family. At the age of 15 he started to study at the Faculty of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro and in 1892 he graduated as a medical doctor, with a thesis on water as vehicle for the propagation of microbes. Inspired by the work of Louis Pasteur, who had developed the germ theory of disease, four years later he went to Paris to specialize in bacteriology at the Pasteur Institute, which gathered the great names of this branch of science of that time. He was financed by his father-in-law, a wealthy Portuguese merchant.

Career

Work in Brazil

Cruz found that the seaport of Santos was ravaged by an epidemic of bubonic plague that threatened to reach Rio de Janeiro, and engaged himself immediately in the combat of this disease. The mayor of Rio de Janeiro authorized the construction of a plant for manufacturing the serum against the disease which had been developed at the Pasteur Institute by Alexandre Yersin and coworkers. He asked the institution for a scientist who could bring this know-how to Brazil. The Pasteur Institute responded that such a person was already available in Brazil: Oswaldo Cruz.

On May 25, 1900, the Federal Serum Therapy Institute was created, intended for the production of sera and vaccines against the bubonic plague, with Baron Pedro Afonso as director general and the young bacteriologist Oswaldo Cruz as technical director. The new institute was established in the old farm of Manguinhos at the western shores of Guanabara Bay. In 1902, Cruz accepted the office of director general of the institute and soon expanded the scope of its activities, now no longer restricted to the production of sera but also dedicated to basic and applied research and to the building of human resources. In the following year, Cruz was appointed director general of Public Health, a position corresponding to today's Brazilian Minister of Health.

Using the Federal Serum Therapy Institute as a technical-scientific base, he embarked on a quick succession of important sanitation campaigns. His first challenge was a series of yellow fever endemics, which had earned Rio de Janeiro the sinister reputation of 'Foreigners' Grave'. Between 1897 and 1906, 4,000 European immigrants had died there from the disease. Cruz pursued the new technique of eradicating mosquitoes and their breeding grounds, fumigating houses, and isolation of the ill. There was opposition to the campaign by many, including physicians, the military, and the poor, but the campaign was successful. Cruz was initially successful in the sanitary campaign against the bubonic plague, to which end he used obligatory notification of cases, isolation of sick people, treatment with the sera produced at Manguinhos and extermination of the rats populating the city.

Smallpox vaccination controversy

He was not successful in implementing a widespread vaccination against smallpox, due to popular resistance to it.^[1] In 1904, a smallpox epidemic was threatening the capital. In the first five months of the year, more than 1,800 people had been hospitalized. A law imposing smallpox vaccination of children had existed since 1837 but had never been put into practice. Therefore, on June 9, 1904, following a proposal by Oswaldo Cruz, the government presented a bill to the Congress requesting the reestablishment of obligatory smallpox vaccination. The extremely rigid and severe provisions of this instrument terrified the people. Popular opposition against Cruz increased sharply and opposition newspapers started a violent campaign against this and the federal government in general. Members of the parliament and labor unions protested. An anti-vaccination league was organized.

On November 10, the Vaccine Revolt exploded in Rio. Violent confrontations with the police ensued, with strikes, barricades, and shootings in the streets, as the population rose in protest against the government. On November 14, the cadets of the Military Academy joined the revolt, but were dispersed after intense shooting. The government declared a state of siege. On November 16, the uprising was controlled, but the obligatory vaccination was suspended.

In 1908, a violent smallpox epidemic made the people rush en masse to the vaccination units. Some 9,000 people died.^[1] Cruz was vindicated and his merit recognized.

Later work

Among the international scientific community, his prestige was already uncontested. In 1907, on occasion of the 14th International Congress on Hygiene and Demography in Berlin, Cruz was awarded with the gold medal in recognition of the sanitation of Rio de Janeiro. In 1909, he retired from the position as director general for Public Health, dedicating himself exclusively to the Manguinhos Institute, which has been named after him. From the institute he organized important scientific expeditions, which allowed a better knowledge about the health and life conditions in the interior of the country and contributed to the colonization of regions. Cruz eradicated urban yellow fever in the state of Pará. His sanitation campaign in the state of Amazonas allowed the completion of construction of the Madeira-Mamoré railroad, which had been interrupted due to the great number of deaths from malaria and yellow fever among the workers.

In 1913, Cruz was elected a member of the Brazilian Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1915, due to health problems, he resigned from the directorship of the Oswaldo Cruz Institute and moved to Petrópolis, a small city in the mountains near Rio. On August 18, 1916, he was elected mayor of that city and outlined an extensive urbanization project he would not see implemented.

Death and legacy

In the morning of February 11, 1917, at 44 years of age, he died of kidney failure in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro state.

As a consequence of the short, fruitful life of Oswaldo Cruz, an extremely important scientific and health institution was born, which marked the beginning of experimental medicine in Brazil in many areas. To this day it exerts a strong influence on Brazilian science, technology and public health.

References

• Buss, Paulo (June 2001). The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation: 100 years. TDRNews 65. Retrieved 2005-03-02.
• Oswaldo Cruz (1872-1917) at FIOCRUZ: Oswald Cruz Foundation. Retrieved 2005-03-02. (website in Portuguese with English section)

Further reading

• Cooper, Donald B. "Oswaldo Cruz and the Impact of Yellow Fever in Brazilian History," Bulletin of the Tulane Medical Faculty 26 (1967)L 49-52.
• Fraga, Clementino. Vida e obra de Osvaldo Cruz. 1972. (tr. "Life and work of Oswaldo Cruz")
• Stepan, Nancy. Beginnings of Brazilian Science: Oswaldo Cruz, Medical Research, and Policy, 1890-1920. New York: Science History Publications, 1981.
• Stepan, Nancy Leys. "Osvaldo Gonçalves Cruz" in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, vol. 2, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.

External links

• Cruz on the Brazilian 50 Cruzados banknote
• Museum of Life (online exhibition on Oswaldo Cruz

Preceded by Raimundo Correia (founder)

Brazilian Academy of Letters - Occupant of the 5th chair 1912 — 1917

Succeeded by Aloísio de Castro

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Patrons and members of the Brazilian Academy of Letters

Chairs
1 to 10

1 (Adelino Fontoura): Luís Murat ► Afonso d'Escragnolle Taunay ► Ivan Monteiro de Barros Lins ► Bernardo Élis ► Evandro Lins e Silva ► Ana Maria Machado
2 (Álvares de Azevedo): Coelho Neto ► João Neves da Fontoura ► João Guimarães Rosa ► Mário Palmério ► Tarcísio Padilha ► Eduardo Giannetti da Fonseca
3 (Artur de Oliveira): Filinto de Almeida ► Roberto Simonsen ► Aníbal Freire da Fonseca ► Herberto Sales ► Carlos Heitor Cony ► Joaquim Falcão
4 (Basílio da Gama): Aluísio Azevedo ► Alcides Maia ► Viana Moog ► Carlos Nejar
5 (Bernardo Guimarães): Raimundo Correia ► Oswaldo Cruz ► Aloísio de Castro ► Cândido Mota Filho ► Rachel de Queiroz ► José Murilo de Carvalho ► Ailton Krenak
6 (Casimiro de Abreu): Teixeira de Melo ► Artur Jaceguai ► Goulart de Andrade ► Barbosa Lima Sobrinho ► Raimundo Faoro ► Cícero Sandroni
7 (Castro Alves): Valentim Magalhães ► Euclides da Cunha ► Afrânio Peixoto ► Afonso Pena Júnior ► Hermes Lima ► Pontes de Miranda ► Diná Silveira de Queirós ► Sérgio Correia da Costa ► Nelson Pereira dos Santos ► Cacá Diegues
8 (Cláudio Manuel da Costa): Alberto de Oliveira ► Oliveira Viana ► Austregésilo de Athayde ► Antônio Calado ► Antônio Olinto ► Cleonice Berardinelli ► Ricardo Cavaliere
9 (Gonçalves de Magalhães): Carlos Magalhães de Azeredo ► Marques Rebelo ► Carlos Chagas Filho ► Alberto da Costa e Silva ► Vacant
10 (Evaristo da Veiga): Rui Barbosa ► Laudelino Freire ► Osvaldo Orico ► Orígenes Lessa ► Lêdo Ivo ► Rosiska Darcy de Oliveira

Chairs
11 to 20

11 (Fagundes Varela): Lúcio de Mendonça ► Pedro Augusto Carneiro Lessa ► Eduardo Ramos ► João Luís Alves ► Adelmar Tavares ► Deolindo Couto ► Darcy Ribeiro ► Celso Furtado ► Hélio Jaguaribe ► Ignácio de Loyola Brandão
12 (França Júnior): Urbano Duarte de Oliveira ► Antônio Augusto de Lima ► Vítor Viana ► José Carlos de Macedo Soares ► Abgar Renault ► Lucas Moreira Neves ► Alfredo Bosi ► Paulo Niemeyer Filho
13 (Francisco Otaviano): Alfredo d'Escragnolle Taunay ► Francisco de Castro ► Martins Júnior ► Sousa Bandeira ► Hélio Lobo ► Augusto Meyer ► Francisco de Assis Barbosa ► Sérgio Paulo Rouanet ► Ruy Castro
14 (Franklin Távora): Clóvis Beviláqua ► Antônio Carneiro Leão ► Fernando de Azevedo ► Miguel Reale ► Celso Lafer
15 (Gonçalves Dias): Olavo Bilac ► Amadeu Amaral ► Guilherme de Almeida ► Odilo Costa Filho ► Marcos Barbosa ► Fernando Bastos de Ávila ► Marco Lucchesi
16 (Gregório de Matos): Araripe Júnior ► Félix Pacheco ► Pedro Calmon ► Lygia Fagundes Telles ► Jorge Caldeira
17 (Hipólito da Costa): Sílvio Romero ► Osório Duque-Estrada ► Edgar Roquette-Pinto ► Álvaro Lins ► Antônio Houaiss ► Affonso Arinos de Mello Franco ► Fernanda Montenegro
18 (João Francisco Lisboa): José Veríssimo ► Barão Homem de Melo ► Alberto Faria ► Luís Carlos ► Pereira da Silva ► Peregrino Júnior ► Arnaldo Niskier
19 (Joaquim Caetano): Alcindo Guanabara ► Silvério Gomes Pimenta ► Gustavo Barroso ► Silva Melo ► Américo Jacobina Lacombe ► Marcos Almir Madeira ► Antônio Carlos Secchin
20 (Joaquim Manuel de Macedo): Salvador de Mendonça ► Emílio de Meneses ► Humberto de Campos ► Múcio Leão ► Aurélio de Lira Tavares ► Murilo Melo Filho ► Gilberto Gil

Chairs
21 to 30

21 (Joaquim Serra): José do Patrocínio ► Mário de Alencar ► Olegário Mariano ► Álvaro Moreira ► Adonias Filho ► Dias Gomes ► Roberto Campos ► Paulo Coelho
22 (José Bonifácio the Younger): Medeiros e Albuquerque ► Miguel Osório de Almeida ► Luís Viana Filho ► Ivo Pitanguy ► João Almino
23 (José de Alencar): Machado de Assis ► Lafayette Rodrigues Pereira ► Alfredo Pujol ► Otávio Mangabeira ► Jorge Amado ► Zélia Gattai ► Luiz Paulo Horta ► Antônio Torres
24 (Júlio Ribeiro): Garcia Redondo ► Luís Guimarães Filho ► Manuel Bandeira ► Cyro dos Anjos ► Sábato Magaldi ► Geraldo Carneiro
25 (Junqueira Freire): Franklin Dória ► Artur Orlando da Silva ► Ataulfo de Paiva ► José Lins do Rego ► Afonso Arinos de Melo Franco ► Alberto Venancio Filho
26 (Laurindo Rabelo): Guimarães Passos ► João do Rio ► Constâncio Alves ► Ribeiro Couto ► Gilberto Amado ► Mauro Mota ► Marcos Vilaça
27 (Antônio Peregrino Maciel Monteiro): Joaquim Nabuco ► Dantas Barreto ► Gregório da Fonseca ► Levi Carneiro ► Otávio de Faria ► Eduardo Portella ► Antonio Cícero
28 (Manuel Antônio de Almeida): Inglês de Sousa ► Xavier Marques ► Menotti Del Picchia ► Oscar Dias Correia ► Domício Proença Filho
29 (Martins Pena): Artur Azevedo ► Vicente de Carvalho ► Cláudio de Sousa ► Josué Montello ► José Mindlin ► Geraldo Holanda Cavalcanti
30 (Pardal Mallet): Pedro Rabelo ► Heráclito Graça ► Antônio Austregésilo ► Aurélio Buarque de Holanda Ferreira ► Nélida Piñon ► Heloísa Teixeira

Chairs
31 to 40

31 (Pedro Luís Pereira de Sousa): Luís Caetano Pereira Guimarães Júnior ► João Batista Ribeiro de Andrade Fernandes ► Paulo Setúbal ► Cassiano Ricardo ► José Cândido de Carvalho ► Geraldo França de Lima ► Moacyr Scliar ► Merval Pereira
32 (Manuel de Araújo Porto-Alegre): Carlos de Laet ► Ramiz Galvão ► Viriato Correia ► Joracy Camargo ► Genolino Amado ► Ariano Suassuna ► Zuenir Ventura
33 (Raul Pompeia): Domício da Gama ► Fernando Magalhães ► Luís Edmundo ► Afrânio Coutinho ► Evanildo Bechara
34 (Sousa Caldas): João Manuel Pereira da Silva ► José Maria da Silva Paranhos Jr. ► Lauro Müller ► Aquino Correia ► Magalhães Júnior ► Carlos Castelo Branco ► João Ubaldo Ribeiro ► Zuenir Ventura ► Evaldo Cabral de Mello
35 (Tavares Bastos): Rodrigo Otávio ► Rodrigo Otávio Filho ► José Honório Rodrigues ► Celso Cunha ► Cândido Mendes de Almeida ► Godofredo de Oliveira Neto
36 (Teófilo Dias): Afonso Celso ► Clementino Fraga ► Paulo Carneiro ► José Guilherme Merquior ► João de Scantimburgo ► Fernando Henrique Cardoso
37 (Tomás António Gonzaga): José Júlio da Silva Ramos ► José de Alcântara Machado ► Getúlio Vargas ► Assis Chateaubriand ► João Cabral de Melo Neto ► Ivan Junqueira ► Ferreira Gullar ► Arno Wehling
38 (Tobias Barreto): Graça Aranha ► Alberto Santos-Dumont ► Celso Vieira ► Maurício Campos de Medeiros ► José Américo de Almeida ► José Sarney
39 (Francisco Adolfo de Varnhagen): Manuel de Oliveira Lima ► Alberto de Faria ► Rocha Pombo ► Rodolfo Garcia ► Elmano Cardim ► Otto Lara Resende ► Roberto Marinho ► Marco Maciel ► José Paulo Cavalcanti Filho
40 (José Maria da Silva Paranhos Sr.): Eduardo Prado ► Afonso Arinos ► Miguel Couto ► Alceu Amoroso Lima ► Evaristo de Moraes Filho ► Edmar Bacha