[Sanitary statistics and social interdependence during the First Republic]

Area of Science:

• History of Medicine
• Public Health
• Sociology of Science

Background:

• The Pasteurian revolution emphasized microbial disease origins.
• The sanitation movement (late 19th-early 20th century) focused on environmental and social factors.
• Disease control efforts increasingly relied on data collection and analysis.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the role of quantification technologies in shaping disease control networks.
• To investigate the influence of sanitary demography on the adoption of the Pasteurian model.
• To examine the statistical documentation of public health reforms.

Main Methods:

• Historical analysis of documents from 1906 to the 1920s.
• Application of Bruno Latour's actor-network theory.
• Utilizing Michel Foucault's concepts of governmentality.

Main Results:

• Quantification technologies were central to establishing and expanding disease control networks.
• Sanitary demography played a key role in the medical community's acceptance of the Pasteurian model.
• Statistical data was used to legitimize and monumentalize public health reforms for various social actors.

Conclusions:

• The integration of quantification technologies transformed disease control from a medical issue to a societal concern.
• Actor-network theory and governmentality provide valuable frameworks for understanding the historical development of public health.
• The study underscores the power of statistics in shaping public health policy and perception.