100 years ago, the First World War ended, the pneumonic (or Spanish) flu was decimating the European population and, in São Brás de Alportel, the Sanatorium Carlos Vasconcelos Porto was inaugurated, to treat respiratory diseases. In 2018, these events will be remembered in the cycle of conferences “Health and Culture”, which will start in April and last until November.
The cycle, comprising four conferences and an exhibition, is jointly promoted by the Regional Directorate of Culture of the Algarve, the Regional Health Administration, the University of Algarve and the Municipality of São Brás de Alportel, who signed this Thursday, the protocol for creating this alliance “innovative” between health and culture.
Alexandra Gonçalves, regional director of Culture, explained to journalists that this cycle of conferences wants to “make known history, so that past mistakes are not repeated, and look for clues to face issues that may affect us in the future”.
According to the official, there are particularities about these three historical events that are not known and that are interesting to reveal to the population. For example, "there are interesting works that say that the war will have ended sooner, because pneumonics affected the population in such a way that it was necessary to return to treat the sick".
Paulo Morgado, president of the ARS Algarve, emphasizes that the pneumonic flu was the «largest known pandemic, with an estimated 100 million people dying from the flu. Let us recall again a situation that had such a great impact on society, such as the Spanish flu, at a time when vaccination is being discussed so much, it makes us think that today we have weapons to prevent these preventable diseases and reduce their impact».
Learning from the past, to look at the future, was also the objective of these conferences highlighted by Saúl Neves de Jesus, vice-rector of the University of Algarve. "We hope to contribute to this reflection and learning, which we do whenever we remember the past and which helps us to look into the future," he said.
Of the three historical events highlighted in this cycle, the only one that takes on the contours of commemoration is the inauguration of the Sanatório Carlos Vasconcelos Porto, in São Brás de Alportel, «a crucial facility for the municipality in the health area, but also in the social and economic area. », as recalled Vítor Guerreiro, mayor of São Brás de Alportel.
The State General Administration of Railways built this sanatorium to house employees and their families, who were suffering from tuberculosis, “not because we were connected to the railways, but because São Brás had good natural air characteristics. It was enough that people were well fed, receiving care and breathing the pure air of Serra do Caldeirão, to be cured of respiratory diseases», he said.
Therefore, for the mayor, «marking 100 years of this milestone is a great satisfaction, we are marking something very important».
What does the future say?
In this respect, Vítor Guerreiro took the opportunity to remind that, where the sanatorium used to function, the Center for Medicine and Rehabilitation of the South currently works, which fights against the lack of professionals. The mayor said he hopes that "within a short time, the constraints will be overcome" and that "it can even be placed in the competition for hiring professionals who gain years of life by breathing fresh air in São Brás de Alportel", he joked .
The first conference, scheduled for April 13, at the Hospital de Faro, will address the pneumonic flu and will have, among other speakers, the participation of Francisco George, former general director of Health.
The second part of the cycle takes place on May 30, in the auditorium of the Regional Directorate of Culture, with a seminar on “Institutions and Architectural Heritage: a century of hospital architecture in the Algarve”.
The only exhibition in the cycle, “Spaces and personalities linked to health in the municipality of São Brás de Alportel”, is scheduled to open on June 1, at the Museu do Traje de São Brás.
In the same place, on September 8th, the centenary of the sanatorium Carlos Vasconcelos Porto is commemorated with another conference, where the presence of the historian Fernando Rosas is already confirmed.
The last of the conferences is scheduled for the University of Algarve and will be about the “End of World War I”. In this case, Vilhena Mesquita is one of the speakers.
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