Le epidemie di vaiolo nel Settecento: dalle prime forme di profilassi alla vaccinazione jenneriana

ESmallpox, one of the most fatal epidemic and contagious diseases in the history, was the first cause of death in the world in the eighteenth century: about 60 million people died and the ones who survived bore indelible marks such as: blindness and disfiguring scars on the face. The present essay recalls the origins, etiology and treatment of smallpox disease from home remedies and preparations to the first preventive method of oriental origin: variolation. It was only in the early nineteenth century, thanks to the spread of the Jennerian discovery, that governments implemented effective vaccination policies. In particular in the Kingdom of Naples, where the smallpox epidemics in the eighteenth century had claimed more victims than elsewhere, a system of application of the new health practice was organized, which was appreciated throughout Europe.ItIl vaiolo, una delle malattie epidemiche e contagiose più funeste di tutta la storia, nel Settecento fu la prima causa di morte nel mondo: circa 60 milioni di persone morirono e quelli che sopravvivevano portavano segni indelebili come: cecità e cicatrici deturpanti sul viso. Il presente saggio ricorda le origini, l'eziologia e il trattamento della malattia vaiolosa dai rimedi e preparati domestici al primo metodo preventivo di origine orientale: la variolizzazione. Solo a partire dai primi anni dell'Ottocento, grazie alla diffusione della scoperta jenneriana, i governi misero in atto politiche vaccinali efficaci. In particolare nel Regno di Napoli, dove le epidemie di vaiolo nel XVIII secolo avevano mietuto più vittime che altrove, fu organizzato un sistema di applicazione della nuova pratica sanitaria, che fu apprezzato in tutta Europa

La ricerca antropologica fra immaginari umanitari e capacità di resilienza

This research aims at discussing the role of the researcher in dealing with the ethical dilemmas of international cooperation. From one side NGOs promote the building of a society encompassing social justice and human rights; from the other, the strategies implemented by them to get the funds indispensable for keeping their development projects alive not always respect the above-mentioned values. In other words, there is a dissonance between what NGOs advocate about human rights, social justice, equal rights, active involvement and what they endorse in terms of public propaganda. The trend to promote simplified and generalized issues for purposes linked to NGOs economic goals weakened the universal imaginary of human rights and increased the skepticism around international development projects and promotion. This scenario represents a challenge for ethically sensitive researchers – as well as journalists – who have to undertake some specific research strategies and methods to keep fair features in their analyses. In this paper – through the evidences resulting from a fieldwork in a Cambodian slum – it will be claimed that an ethically sensitive research needs a participatory framework. The adoption of participatory research methods – involving people in all the phases of the research process – not only lets the researcher focus the research on people’s real goals, needs and values but it also provides people with awareness about their own opportunities and potentialities

THE WELL-BEING IN THE PERSPECTIVES OF PHOUM THMEY’S CHILDREN. THE ROLE OF AFFECTIVE CAPITAL

EnglishThis paper is the result of a research carried out in Phoum Thmey, the most populated settlement of Sihanoukville, in the South of Cambodia. The general aim of the research was to investigate the well-being dimensions of children involved in a sponsorship programme by using Amartya Sen’s capability approach, a framework which embraces an integrated view of development in which not only material dimensions but also immaterial ones ‐ such as human relations, freedom of choice and agency ‐ matter. The focus has been on the dimension of love and care (affective capital) and on its role in promoting children’s capabilities. ItalianoQuesto articolo è il risultato di una ricerca condotta a Phoum Thmey, il settlement più grande di Sihanoukville, una città della Cambogia meridionale.La ricerca si proponeva di individuare le dimensioni del benessere dei minori coinvolti in un programma di sostegno a distanza utilizzando come cornice analitica il capability approach di Amartya Sen. Il capability approach abbraccia una visione integrata dello sviluppo, dando rilevanza non solo ai suoi aspetti materiali ma anche a quelli immateriali come le relazioni umane, la libertà di scelta e l’agency. Lo studio si è concentrato sulla dimensione dell’amore e della cura (capitale affettivo) e sul suo ruolo nel promuovere le capabilities dei minori.

Pooled Analysis of a Self-Sampling HPV DNA Test as a Cervical Cancer Primary Screening Method

BackgroundWorldwide, one-seventh of cervical cancers occur in China, which lacks a national screening program. By evaluating the diagnostic accuracy of self-collected cervicovaginal specimens tested for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA (Self-HPV testing) in China, we sought to determine whether Self-HPV testing may serve as a primary cervical cancer screening method in low-resource settings.MethodsWe compiled individual patient data from five population-based cervical cancer–screening studies in China. Participants (n = 13 140) received Self-HPV testing, physician-collected cervical specimens for HPV testing (Physician-HPV testing), liquid-based cytology (LBC), and visual inspection with acetic acid (VIA). Screen-positive women underwent colposcopy and confirmatory biopsy. We analyzed the accuracies of pooled Self-HPV testing, Physician-HPV testing, VIA, and LBC to detect biopsy-confirmed cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade 2 or more severe (CIN2+) and CIN3+. All statistical tests were two-sided.ResultsOf 13 004 women included in the analysis, 507 (3.9%) were diagnosed as CIN2+, 273 (2.1%) as CIN3+, and 37 (0.3%) with cervical cancer. Self-HPV testing had 86.2% sensitivity and 80.7% specificity for detecting CIN2+ and 86.1% sensitivity and 79.5% specificity for detecting CIN3+. VIA had statistically significantly lower sensitivity for detecting CIN2+ (50.3%) and CIN3+ (55.7%) and higher specificity for detecting CIN2+ (87.4%) and CIN3+ (86.9%) (all P values < .001) than Self-HPV testing, LBC had lower sensitivity for detecting CIN2+ (80.7%, P = .015), similar sensitivity for detecting CIN3+ (89.0%, P = .341), and higher specificity for detecting CIN2+ (94.0%, P < .001) and CIN3+ (92.8%, P < .001) than Self-HPV testing. Physician-HPV testing was more sensitive for detecting CIN2+ (97.0%) and CIN3+ (97.8%) but similarly specific for detecting CIN2+ (82.7%) and CIN3+ (81.3%) (all P values <.001) than Self-HPV testing.ConclusionsThe sensitivity of Self-HPV testing compared favorably with that of LBC and was superior to the sensitivity of VIA. Self-HPV testing may complement current screening programs by increasing population coverage in settings that do not have easy access to comprehensive cytology-based screening

Un laboratorio politico per la giustizia. Potere, conflitti ed emergenze nell’opera di Jean Foyer

Nel volume si analizza una lunga e, per certi versi, tormentata stagione politica attraverso l’azione politicoistituzionale di un gaulliste passionné, tra i maggiori protagonisti del cambio di passo impresso alla Francia della seconda metà del Novecento. Le mutate condizioni sociali rendevano quanto mai necessario un nuovo assetto costituzionale oltre che un rinnovato impianto giuridico. Un complesso progetto, pensato e posto in opera in quel laboratorio politico, voluto da Foyer, dove si sperimentarono innovativi approcci metodologici anche in serrato confronto tra le migliori energie del tempo. D’altro canto il deciso sedimentarsi di teorie costituzionali e la riforma del “monumento del diritto” continuava a rappresentare per la Francia una prospettiva di dialogo ed un ponte per l’Europa. In appendice si pubblica per la prima volta in lingua italiana la Storia della Giustizia di Jean Foyer (Histoire de la justice © Que sais-je? / Humensis, 1996)