[Is allastrim small pox?]

Between 1910 and 1913, two renowned physicians in the city of Sao Paulo found themselves engaged in a scientific controversy regarding the classification of a disease then assailing the state. Antonio Carini, director of the Instituto Pasteur de Sao Paulo, believed the illness to be small pox, while Emilio Ribas, director of the Servico Sanitario, claimed it was allastrim, or milk pox. The controversy started in the Sociedade de Medicina e Cirurgia but later migrated to other forums and came to incorporate other figures as well. This presentation and discussion of the polemic is meant as a contribution to our understanding of the process by which a scientific consensus is constructed and solidified within the field of the biomedical sciences.