Traditional medicine in times of epidemics: a historical perspective on the Peruvian case (19th–21st centuries)

Lossio J. · Salud Colectiva (2026) · DOI: 10.18294/sc.2026.6175

Resumen

This article analyzes the persistence of traditional medicine in Peru from the 19th century to the present, in the context of the consolidation of Western academic medicine and, subsequently, biomedicine, through the examination of three cases: the 1868 yellow fever epidemic, responses to smallpox and vaccination during the 19th and 20th centuries, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Across these three cases, tensions can be observed between state efforts to impose a biomedical model and the persistence of traditional forms of knowledge. We understand traditional medicine not as an immutable body of knowledge and practices, but rather as systems in constant transformation, incorporating and adapting knowledge from other systems. The article argues that these episodes reveal the persistence of different ways of understanding and treating health, characterized by the articulation of therapeutic practices, unequal relationships between medical systems, and the defense of distinct cultural identities and forms of knowledge.

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú