Abstract

HERNANDEZ ORTIZ, Francisco. Outbreaks of typhus and smallpox. Some hygiene measures for boarding students at the Normal School for Teachers. Debates hist. [online]. 2023, vol.11, n.1, pp.115-137.  Epub Mar 27, 2023. ISSN 2594-2956.  https://doi.org/10.54167/debates-por-la-historia.v11i1.1013.

This research’s objective, carried out from the Social History perspective, is to present some hygienic measures that were taken at the end of the XIX century, after the outbreaks of typhus and smallpox, for the students of the boarding school of the Normal School for Teachers. The methodological procedure of the study consisted of two parts; the first was a theoretical-conceptual inquiry into epidemiological events from a historical perspective; the second consisted of the application of data analysis techniques from primary sources recovered from the Historical Archive of the state of San Luis Potosí. The findings corroborate that the epidemics of smallpox and typhus, two contagious diseases, caused desolation and death in the population, therefore, a slight outbreak alerted the authorities, as happened in San Luis Potosí in 1895. Government decisions on health were based on the medical and hygienist currents of the time. Hygienist measures were also transferred to the educative field; In the boarding schools, the concern of the school authorities was evident, since they devoted themselves to the care of cleaning the rooms, feeding and caring for the body. For this purpose, the boarding students were provided with the necessary inputs and products for optimal maintenance of the establishment.

Keywords : epidemiology; hygiene; teacher training.