Patrícia D. DEPS, Rachel Bertolani do Espírito SANTO, Francisco E. Simão MERÇON

Pedro Fontes, the physician who discovered leprosy in Espírito Santo Province, Brasil

Pedro Fontes, o médico que descobriu a hanseníase no Estado do Espírito Santo, Brasil

Published in Qualification of the Medical Teacher

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This biographical article deals with the figure of Pedro Fontes, a physician graduated in 1903 by the Faculdade de Medicina da Bahia, who came to the State of Espírito Santo in 1927 with the mission of evaluating the possible existence of people affected by leprosy in the State. After a few months of work all over the state, Pedro Fontes identified a large number of people affected by leprosy and triggered the local health authorities, alerting the need for a specific place for isolation and treatment of patients. Pedro Fontes participated actively, being a mentor with Dr. Heráclito Souza-Araújo, of the creation and construction of the Colony of Itanhenga, inaugurated in 1937, later becoming the Colony Hospital Pedro Fontes, institution responsible for housing people affected by leprosy that were hospitalized compulsorily until the middle 1960's.