Enemy in the Blood: Malaria, Environment, and Development in Argentina

Glossary

Glossary anopheles:Genus of mosquitoes, comprised of approximately four hundred species, that are the only vectors of malaria. Anopheles albitarsis: Anopheline species commonly found in the northwest, but ultimately harmless as a malaria vector. Anopheles argyritarsis: Anopheline species commonly found in the northwest, but ultimately harmless as a malaria vector. Anopheles darlingi: A major vector of malaria in tropical south America, especially Brazil, and also found in northeast Argentina. Anopheles gambiae: the main vector for malaria in tropical Africa. Anopheles pseudopunctipennis: the principal mosquito vector for malaria in northwest Argentina;also found throughout the Andean countries and in Central America. anthropophilia:Propensity of a female mosquito to take blood meals from humans . arroyo:Creek or stream. berro: Watercress. bonifica: italian term that was roughly equivalent in usage to the Argentine saneamiento , meaning “sanitation” and “beautification.” Bonifica umana referred to treating or preventing malaria infections through the timely prescription of quinine. Piccola bonifica encompassed a suite of strategies aimed at mosquitoes in their adult and larval stages. Grande bonifica, which translated into spanish as gran saneamiento,saneamiento agrario, or saneamiento hidr áulico, consisted of massive drainage and land reclamation projects, at the landscape scale:river valleys, marshlands, and so forth. brigada: Brigade. Cámara de diputados:Chamber of deputies, the lower house of the Argentine national congress. Cámara de senadores:Chamber of senators, the upper house of the Argentine national congress. caudillos:in the politics of nineteenth-century Argentina, regional strongmen who controlled their subjects through patronage relations. 242 / Glossary chucho: Commonplace vernacular term for malaria in Argentina’s northwest ;derived from Quechua chúhchu; still a common term for “shivers” or “chills.” ciénaga: swamp. cinchona:A genus of trees (Cinchona spp. ) from which quinine is derived;these trees are native to the eastern flank of the Andes mountains and foothills. Chagas disease:A parasitic disease spread by insects (Triatoma spp., or vinchucas) in south America. criadero: mosquito breeding or nursery area. criollo:Creole or hispanic;in Argentina, the meaning of this term has been subject to much debate but usually refers to the racial admixture of European , indigenous, and, to a lesser extent, African, that was characteristic of Argentine society before the great migrations of the late nineteenth century . see also chapter 1, note 13. croquis: sketch map. culex:Genus of mosquitoes, comprised of common and generally harmless species. curandero/a: folk healer. dedetización: literally, ddt-ization, a strategy of house spraying for anopheles mosquitoes with ddt. descamisados: shirtless ones, a name given to (and cherished by) Juan d. Perón’s followers from the lower classes. encargado de sección: section manager,designation used in place of “peon” in Carlos Alvarado’s foci patrol model. foci patrol:see policía de focos. gaucho:the peasant or cowboy of the Pampas,a central figure in the mythology of Argentina’s national identity. higiene: hygiene. higienista: Proponent of public hygiene, circa 1880–1940, in Argentina. ingenio: sugar mill. interventor: federal overseer, appointed by Argentine presidents to govern provinces by decree under intervención federal process. jornal: Workday, the unit of pay for a jornalero, or “day laborer.” justicialismo: social justice ideology of Juan d. Perón’s political party, the Partido Justicialista. laguna: lagoon or pond. lama: roughly, a mat of algae in a pond or stream. lampazo: Burdock. latifundio: A large estate, typical of the agrarian structure of italy and south America into the 1900s (and after). law 5195:federal law passed in 1907 that created Argentina’s malaria service. leishmaniasis:A disease, transmitted by sand flies (Phlebotomus spp.), that causes a disfiguring and rotting of the flesh;also known as American cutaneous or mucocutaneous leishmaniasis. Glossary / 243 littoral:literally, near the sea;in Argentina, the region comprised of Buenos Aires and other provinces of the lower río de la Plata Basin.though its boundaries are ambiguous, historically it is the country’s core economic region and the counterpart of the interior. lucha: fight or campaign, as in lucha antipalúdica (campaign against malaria). mixed infection:infection with two or more species of plasmodium parasites simultaneously. monte: thick or scrubby vegetation;disused or waste land. Nyssorhynchus: subgenus of anopheles mosquitoes that includes A.albitarsis, A.argyritarsis,A.darlingi,A.tarsimaculatus, but not A.pseudopunctipennis. paludismo: one spanish term for malaria, derived from latin word for swamp (palus);in Argentina, more than in other south American countries, malaria is called “paludismo” instead of “malaria.” pantano...