In the past centuries, especially during and immediately after the discovery of the American continent by Europeans (Portuguese and Spanish), during the colonization, the presence and emergence of both known and previously unknown pathogens in the New World was frequently described. Indeed, several important diseases were ?transferred? from the Old World (Europe, Asia, and Africa) to the Americas, among them being measles, rubella, smallpox, poliomyelitis, tuberculosis, leprosy, schistosomiasis, and yellow fever. Air-borne diseases, such as tuberculosis, measles, smallpox, and others, were established in the New World brought by the European colonizers, and as happened in all countries, in Brazil these diseases were responsible for the almost complete annihilation of the pre-Colombian civilization.
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