Meningitis:theepidemicthemilitarydictatorshipcouldn'thide

I'll translate this title: MPB4 - That's Right, Doctor

A samba with a gentle rhythm is overtaken by a confused clamor, children crying, and a man's voice saying, "excuse me, excuse me; watch out, a boy with meningitis coming through, move aside, move aside." This is how the MPB-4 group's rendition of "Tá Certo, Doutor," a song by Gonzaguinha, begins. Released in 1974, it was like a musical portrait of the isolation wards of Hospital São Sebastião – located in the neighborhood of Caju, Rio de Janeiro. Patients suspected of having meningitis – an inflammation of the membranes of the brain – were sent there. Of the thousand cases of the disease admitted to São Sebastião that year, most of them children, about three hundred died.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white informational poster. At the top, it reads "In 1974, there were 4,000 deaths." Below that, it continues with "This year, there are enough vaccines to immunize 80% of the population." The spatial layout is linear, with the text arranged from top to bottom and left to right. There are no additional graphic elements besides the text.

The first outbreak of meningococcal meningitis in Rio de Janeiro and in Brazil occurred in the early 1920s. In the 1940s, the disease came to be considered endemic in the country – meaning transmission remained constant, with a steady average of cases each year. In 1970, however, the illness reached alarming levels. This surge in cases was caused by not just one, but two types of the disease: a type C epidemic, which began in 1971, went uncontrolled for years until it combined with a new strain, type A, which spread even more rapidly among the population in the first half of 1974. The disease, transmitted mainly through saliva droplets (talking, coughing, kissing), can be mistaken for a common flu. But among the symptoms that signal this specific infection are projectile vomiting, pain at the back of the head, and neck stiffness.

On July 26, 1974, the Diário de Notícias carried on its front page the headline: "Hospitalizations already reach 320, but meningitis is a forbidden subject in Rio." That same week, another Rio newspaper, O Globo, also spoke out: "silence does not cure, nor does it prevent." Meanwhile, an internal memo, signed by the Director-General of the Federal Police, Col. Moacyr Coelho, not only advised but reiterated the ban on disclosing "numerical, graphic, and statistical data [sic] on meningitis." In the first half of the 1970s, when the epidemic's growth rate exceeded 10% per year, the last thing the governments of generals Médici (1969-1974) and Geisel (1974-1979) wanted was news of a health crisis in the country tarnishing the image of the "economic miracle." For the dictatorship, meningitis was a matter of national security: an issue not only of health, but of policing. And the remedy for the epidemic was censorship.

Image description: The image is a radiogram received from the Federal Police Department, Communications Service. It is in black and white and contains information about the transmission of a communiqué. On the left, there is the seal of the Federal Police Department and the reception details, including the date (07/31) and time (2:10 PM). In the center is the radiogram number (NR 1050) and additional details such as "CIRCULAR 'UUU'". On the right is the radiogram control number (HE.O.IVT.SIP.34/243) and the station stamp. The main text mentions restrictions on the disclosure of information related to meningitis and vaccine imports, signed by Col. Moacyr Coelho, DG/DPF.

Radiogram prohibiting the disclosure of data about meningitis. Arquivo Nacional

The lack of information led part of the population to self-medicate. In addition to "mixtures and little remedies" – mainly those camphor-based –, the indiscriminate use of antibiotics, besides certainly poisoning some users, may have increased the resistance of the bacteria causing the diseases.

Image description: The image is a black-and-white photograph. On the left, we see a forklift carrying boxes of vaccines inside a truck. On the right, a man is pointing to a large board with graphs and tables. The text next to the photo mentions that the vaccines for the meningitis campaign have already arrived and were placed in cold storage. The Minister of Health organizes the plan for the war against meningitis.

When it became impossible to disguise the facts, the government's focus shifted to vaccination. The Ministry of Health imported millions of doses of a vaccine that was still experimental, and Rio de Janeiro had most of its population immunized between late 1974 and early the following year. In 1976, the Institute of Technology in Immunobiologicals was created in the Manguinhos neighborhood, in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Bio-Manguinhos became the production unit for vaccines against meningitis and other diseases. And to this day it remains a national reference.

Image description: This is a color photograph showing a scene inside a doctor's office. On the left, a woman holds a child dressed in light-colored clothing. On the right, a man is about to administer an injection in the child's leg. In the background, other individuals watch the situation. Everyone is focused on the medical task.

Grupo Revelação - Zé Meningite