Remnants of epidemics in Minho: typhus outbreaks in the 19th and 20th centuries

Abstract

In this work, we analyze the typhus epidemics that, similarly to what happened in other parts of the country, devastated several places in Minho, between the 19th and early 20th centuries, special relevance is given to the situation in the city and district of Braga.
In order to carry out this study, we used, namely, contemporary medical literature, the press and hospital admission records in this region of northern Portugal.
The main objectives of this article are to characterize and contextualize the typhus outbreaks that affected the lands of Minho; analyze the initiatives of the administrative and health authorities and the difficulties they faced in controlling them; note the impact they had on the lives of populations, namely in the economic, social and demographic domains; show how some of the measures then adopted with the purpose of containing their effects were received.