History of the Formation and Development of Epidemiology in the Russian Empire

The article considers the main stages of formation and development of epidemiology in the Russian Empire, associated with the activity of its founder, a native of Ukraine — Danila Samoylovich Samoylovich. Life and creative way of the founder of national epidemiology as a science, his role in theory and practice of epidemics control is analyzed. The value and influence of scientific works of D. Samoilovich on the national and foreign medicine of the 18th c. for further development of epidemiology in the Russian empire are determined. We analyze the main scientific publications of D. Samoilovich, in which he develops ideas on combating epidemics of infectious diseases and offers an original doctrine of plague and a system of measures to combat it. D. Samoilovich's role in the fight against the Moscow plague as well as in the south of Ukraine is shown. Thanks to innovative solutions, such as disinfection of things and dwellings of plague patients, vaccination, etc., D. Samoilovich was able not only to extinguish plague outbreaks, but also to essentially reduce the risks of its occurrence in the future. The conflict between D. Samoilovich and the official authorities, connected with the sympathies of the great scientist to the ideals of the French Revolution, membership in the Masonic order and anti-monarchic aspirations, is described. The article claims about the significant influence of D. Samoilovich's ideas and discoveries on the development of European medicine. This was expressed in the fact that he was elected a member of 12 European Academies of Sciences, and his works were published in French and German, and later republished. The appearance of the first medical manuals in Russian is connected with the name of D. Samoilovich. In addition to his medical and scientific activities, D. Samoilovich was active in social and educational activities, because he was convinced that an effective fight against epidemics is possible only with the use of systemic measures at the level of not only state control and management, but also with broad public representation. The main scientific innovations of D. Samoilovich's innovations in the fight against epidemics are analyzed.

Source: Аndrii E. Lebid, Anatolii V. Honcharenko (2022) History of the Formation and Development of Epidemiology in the Russian Empire. Bylye Gody. 17(1): 67-81

Source web-site: https://bg.cherkasgu.press/journals_n/1646146394.pdf