La enfermedad oculta: una historia de las enfermedades profesionales en Colombia, el caso de la silicosis (1910-1950)

• Main Authors: Jorge Márquez Valderrama, Óscar Gallo Vélez
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad de los Andes 2011-12-01
• Series: Historia Crítica
• Subjects: Pneumoconiosis; silicosis; tuberculosis; occupational diseases; industrial hygiene; the history of occupational medicine; Colombia.
• Online Access: http://historiacritica.uniandes.edu.co/view.php/726/index.php?id=726

Silicosis (and other pneumoconioses), a chronic disease often associated with the appearance of tuberculosis in miners, posed a significant challenge for Colombia's nascent hygienic and industrial safety efforts. The article analyzes the strategies and recommendations of various doctors and engineers to reduce this type of "risk." It shows how silicosis remained outside the interests of the medical establishment due to the predominance of other socio-medical problems. It became a medical problem with the first studies of "occupational medicine" and the beginnings of social security in Colombia.