The “Regional-Medical Congress of Navarre” (1886): an exercise in sharing scientific knowledge

Abstract

This paper discusses the last wave of cholera in Navarre (1884-85). This epidemic has been the least studied because it barely affected Pamplona, the largest urban area in the province. But the situation was critical in other zones close to the River Ebro (the Ribera area). Background. In 1886, the “Regional-Medical Congress of Navarre”, held in Tafalla (Navarre), studied the latest cholera epidemic in the region. An analysis of this scientific meeting is of interest because of the data it offers on the physicians’ reactions to the development of microbiology and public hygiene, shortly after Robert Koch had isolated the comma-shaped cholera bacillus in 1883 (“Bacillus virgula”), and the controversy over the distribution of the vaccine by Jaime Ferrán y Clúa, in 1885. Material and methods. Analysis of the conference reports presented at the “Regional-Medical Congress”. Conclusions. This scientific medical gathering in Tafalla was innovative for Navarre. The transfer of ideas from international conferences on the cholera epidemic can be seen. The development of the Conference was influenced by medical celebrities like Nicasio Landa and Antonio Espina y Capo. We can also observe differences in the physicians’ ideas. At the time there was no paradigm on microbiology in the world of science. The questionnaires produced by the Navarrese physicians for the study of the epidemic are a good example of the procedure for analysing a public health problem and of the measures proposed in a situation of cholera epidemic.