Peruvian Jungle Research Articles

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This is the narrative of a patient made before, during and after being incarcerated in an agricultural colony in the Peruvian Amazon. In a vivid style, it narrates the decay of the body, the stigma and the compulsive segregation, as well as the hope for a better life. It is the perspective of a patient, something that is difficult to find when researching the history of health. The original publication was possible thanks to the German physician Maxime H. Kuczynski-Godard and thanks to the Institute of Social Medicine of the University of San Marcos that was directed by the professor of hygiene Carlos Enrique Paz-Soldán. We have used this publication for this transcription. Kuczynski-Godard was a German medical doctor that arrived in Peru in the mid 1930s and organized valuable activities in the Peruvian jungle as a part of an effort, which eventually failed, of the Peruvian State to colonize, or really to "civilize" the Amazon.

ATTITUDES AND VALUES OF PERUVIAN COCA GROWERS*

This study uses semi-structured interviews to examine the attitudes and values of Peruvian coca growers toward coca leaf and cocaine basic paste (CBP) consumption and its distribution. The subjects of the study were 186 coca growers from Peruvian jungle valleys who are involved in illegal commercialization of coca leaf and cocaine paste production. Data collected in 1994 reveal that growers consider coca leaf to be a most profitable product and a unique opportunity to improve their quality of life. Although growers acknowledge that a problem exists among local users, they do not assume any responsibility for CBP consumption and dissemination in rural areas. This leads to the conclusion that awareness of a CBP consumption problem is not enough for growers to stop drug production; they need consistent training in social values, as well as support in legal and economic alternatives. [Translations are provided in the International s Section of this issue.]

Prevalencia de anemia en gestantes, Hospital Regional de Pucallpa, Perú

Population based health surveys in Peru show that the general fertility rates, proportion of pregnant adolescents, and maternal and child morbidity are higher in the jungle regions than in other parts of the country. Endemic intestinal parasitic diseases increase the risk of anemia in pregnant women already suffering from iron, folic acid, and other nutritional deficiencies. This is the most common complication of pregnancy in many Latin American countries and is often associated with premature labor, low birthweight, and perinatal mortality. There are very few studies on this subject based on jungle populations and no reliable estimates of the prevalence of anemia in local pregnant women. The present study was designed to determine the prevalence of anemia in pregnant women attending the Regional Hospital in Pucallpa, located in the Peruvian jungle, from January 1993 to June 1995. This cross-sectional study, which was based on the registries of prenatal and childbirth services encompassing 1,015 pregnant women, looked into the potential association between anemia and such variables as the mother's chronological age, schooling, previous pregnancies, and weight at the beginning of pregnancy. Maternal hemoglobin levels were compared with the newborns' weight at birth. The prevalence of anemia in this population sample was 70.1%. This value was not modified when adjusted for maternal age, schooling, or interval between births. Anemia prevalence was directly related to the number of previous pregnancies and inversely related to weight gain during pregnancy. The perinatal mortality rate was 37.7 per 1,000 births. Neither this rate nor the birthweights were associated with the mother's degree of anemia. A multivariate regression analysis showed that maternal body weight at the start of pregnancy (P = 0.0001), weight gain during pregnancy (P = 0.0001), and the number of pregnancies (P = 0.008) are predictors of birthweight. Results showed that the high prevalence of anemia in Pucallpa's pregnant women is not associated with low birthweight or a high perinatal mortality rate. Future studies should investigate the principal causes of anemia in the pregnant women of Pucallpa and how the disease affects the psychomotor development of their offspring.

Commentary: Ethics and the State

As a businessman working in the Peruvian jungle since 1971, I have used my training in anthropology in a hands-on approach to corporate management. My persevering attempt to comprehend the Peruvian cultural profile has been instrumental in successful relations with the more than five thousand workers who, in the last two decades, have been employed off and on in our group of enterprises. Dr. Ervin's commentary in Practicing Anthropology served to remind me that student life is still as wonderfully unreal as it was in 1942 when I was at the University of New Mexico.

Epidemiology of taeniasis and cysticercosis in a Peruvian village. The Cysticercosis Working Group in Peru.

To determine the prevalence of cysticercosis in a rural area where the disease is endemic, the authors studied the seroepidemiology of human and porcine cysticercosis in a Peruvian jungle community (Maceda, Peru) in 1988 using an enzyme-linked immunoelectrotransfer blot (EITB) assay. Of the 371 sampled inhabitants, 30 (8%) were seropositive, most of whom were asymptomatic. After niclosamide therapy, four Taenia species worms were identified in the seropositive group, compared with one in the control group (p = 0.06). Pigs were frequently infected: 44 of 133 (33%) were found positive for Taenia by tongue examination and 57 of 133 (43%) were positive by EITB. In 69% of the sampled households that had pigs, there was at least one seropositive pig. The number of pigs diagnosed positive by the tongue examination was significantly greater in households that had latrines than in those that did not. Cysticercosis is a common but usually asymptomatic infection that affects both humans and pigs in the high jungle areas of Peru.

Outbreak of human rabies in the Peruvian jungle

Transmission of rabies to man by vampire bats has been known for 60 years but there have been few reports of the features of rabies transmitted in this way. These aspects of the disease were investigated during an outbreak in Peru in early 1990. Between Jan 1 and April 30, 1990, 29 (5%) of 636 residents of the two rural communities in the Amazon Jungle in Peru acquired an illness characterised by hydrophobia, fever, and headache and died shortly thereafter. A census in one of the two towns revealed that the proportion affected was significantly higher for 5-14 year olds (17%) than for other age-groups (p<10 -5). Interviews conducted with 23 of the patients or their families revealed that 22 (96%) had a history of bat bite, compared with 66 (22%) of 301 community members who remained healthy (p<10 -6). A rabies virus strain identical to those isolated from vampire bats ( Desmodus rotundus) was isolated from the brain of the only person on whom necropsy could be done. Because of the extreme isolation of this and other communities affected by bat-transmitted rabies, preventive measures should be directed at decreasing the risk of nocturnal exposure to bats by bat proofing dwellings or use of mosquito nets and at prompt wound care. Rabies pre-exposure or postexposure vaccination is clearly indicated, but may not be feasible in these isolated populations.

Taspine is the cicatrizant principle in Sangre de Grado extracted from Croton lechleri.

Sangre de Grado extract used by Peruvian natives as a cicatrizant agent, was collected from trees of the species Croton lechleri growing in the Peruvian jungle. The Sangre de Grado was found to contain one alkaloid identified as taspine and which was shown to be the active cicatrizant principle by an in vivo test in mice. This alkaloid exhibited a dose-related cicatrizant effect and an ED50 of 0.375 mg/kg. Experiments with taspine hydrochloride in order to study its mechanism of action in cell culture systems showed that the alkaloid was non-toxic to human foreskin fibroblasts at concentrations below 150 ng/ml and that it had no effect on cell proliferation. On the other hand, taspine hydrochloride was found to increase the migration of human foreskin fibroblasts. This effect on the migration of fibroblasts is probably the mechanism by which Sangre de Grado and taspine hydrochloride accelerate the wound healing process. Using the two-stage mouse skin carcinogenesis system, we have been able to show that neither Sangre de Grado nor taspine hydrochloride had carcinogenic or tumour promoter activity after 17 months of treatment.

Un intento colonizador en el Perú de 1835

​In this article the author presents a valuable document written by General Guillermo Milller about a journey he undertook to the east of Cusco in July 1835. From the author's point of view the document is especially noteworthy not only because of Miller's insights, but also because it reports one of the first attempts to colonize the Peruvian jungle in the early 19th century.

Leishmaniasis and Inca settlement in the Peruvian jungle

In an earlier article in this journal D. W. Gade implicated mucocutaneous leishmaniasis, a parasitic disease, as a major factor deterring the Inca settlement of the Peruvian jungle. A review of the medical, ecological, archaecological and ethnohistorical evidence shows that this was not the case. Leishmaniasis was not associated with the jungle by the Incas, and so could not have been a deterrent to settlement of that zone. Furthermore, archaeological evidence indicates that the Incas did settle the wet tropical valleys of the eastern Andes more extensively, and permanently, than previously believed. The pattern of Inca occupation and utiliztion of the jungle is best understood in terms of their political economy and of ancient modes of adaptation to their vertical landscape.

Six new leptospiral serovars isolated from wild animals in Peru.

Six new serovars of Leptospira interrogans were isolated from opossums (Didelphis marsupialis and Philander opossum) trapped in the Peruvian jungle. The proposed names, type strain designation, and serogroup of the serovars, respectively, were: huallaga, strain M-7, Djasiman serogroup; luis, strain M-6, Tarassovi serogroup; machiguenga, strain MMD-3, Icterohaemorrhagiae serogroup; rioja, strain MR-12, Bataviae serogroup; rupa rupa, strain M-3, Sejroe serogroup; and tingomaria, strain M-13, Cynopteri serogroup.

Overview of the programme of bilingual education in the Peruvian jungle

Overview of the programme of bilingual education in the Peruvian jungle

Diet and Food Beliefs of Peruvian Jungle Tribes. I. The Shipibo (Monkey People)

Diet and Food Beliefs of Peruvian Jungle Tribes. I. The Shipibo (Monkey People)