Emílio Ribas Museum of Public Health – Butantan InstituteEmilio Ribas (right) visiting Hospital de IsolamentoEmílio Ribas Museum of Public Health – Butantan Institute
In letters exchanged with his colleagues at the beginning of the twentieth century, Brazilian physician Emílio Ribas (1862–1925) presented hypotheses on the transmission of yellow fever and reported on the difficulties of tackling the diseases of his time — including smallpox and leprosy — as director of the São Paulo State Health Service. Fifty-five of his letters are summarized online in the Inventory of the Emílio Marcondes Ribas Fund, recently launched by the Emílio Ribas Public Health Museum (MUSPER), managed by the Butantan Institute. Organized by Augusto Silva Lima Gomes dos Santos and Maria Talib Assad, the inventory contains photos of Ribas and his family from between 1887 and 1910, personal documents, and references to his publications — such as the final thesis he presented at the School of Medicine of Rio de Janeiro in 1887, titled “Imminent death of newborns; treatment.” The collection can be seen in person by appointment. The MUSPER museum also houses 32 personal objects, such as pairs of glasses, a microscope, a quill pen, and furniture that belonged to the doctor described by Vital Brazil (1865–1950) as a “man of action” in 1936.
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