Investigating the Performance of the Government and the People in Dealing with Infectious Diseases in the First Pahlavi Period (Case Study: Smallpox in Fars Province)

One of the main duties of governments is to ensure public health. The realization of such a thing, in addition to the responsibility of the various elements of the government and their efforts and coordination to perform this task, depends on the cooperation of different social strata with the policies implemented by the government. One of the common health problems in Iran that required the responsibility and cooperation of the government and the nation to deal with it was the spread of infectious diseases, including smallpox. Therefore, in the present study, the performance of various institutions of the first Pahlavi government and the general public and the extent of their cooperation in the fight against smallpox in Fars province is examined.

This article is a descriptive-analytical method based on unpublished documents of the Documentation Center and the National Library of Fars and other documents and historical sources.

Ethical Considerations: 

In the current research, the ethical aspects of library study, including the authenticity of texts, honesty and trustworthiness, have been observed.

In the first Pahlavi period, with the approval and implementation of the law on general and free inoculation, the establishment of fixed and mobile inoculation stations in different parts of the country and encouraging and threatening people to strike inoculation in children, the number of patients with this disease and the resulting mortality was sown vigorously, but due to the lack of sufficient facilities and facilities, lack of inoculation officers, lack of cooperation of the people due to ignorance and distrust of the government, as well as lack of cooperation of some the village's headmans, local rulers and inoculation officers, smallpox completely Could not be rooted.