[Environment and public health: epidemics in Modern Age Portugal].

Abstract

The issue of public health and epidemics is again in the spotlight today because of the recent epidemic we have experienced, which, although weaker, continues to be the object of our attention. In this article, we attempt to understand the relationship between the environment and public health, within this context exploring the main epidemics known to have occurred in Portugal in the Modern Age. Conditions in Portugal at that time were favorable for the spread of several epidemics; the environment encouraged the spread of disease and boosted virulence at a time when medicine was unable to cope, causing mortality rates to soar.