residual effect — The period of time that an insecticide is effective.
Rhodnius pallescens — The principal vector of T. cruzi in Central America and Panama.
Rhodnius prolixus — Triatomines that belong to the genus Rhodnius and are vectors of T. cruzi.
Romana’s Sign (Signo de Romana) — A symptom of acute infection by Trypanosoma cruzi, consisting of edema (marked swelling) around the orbit of the eye and in the lymph node on the face in front of the earlobe. It is present only in a minority of infections.
S Sajjra mesa “misfortune table” — A ritual performed by warmi yachaj to remove illness in the Kallawaya region of the Bolivian Andes.
salivaria — Refers to trypanosomes, such as T. rangeli, that develop in an insect’s saliva or mouth and are injected by biting. The highly pathogenic human salivary trypanosomes belong to the T brucei group, which are transmitted through the saliva of tsetse flies and cause human sleeping sickness. See stercoria.
sayana — Aymara concept for house, which includes the house, its surrounding territory, and attendant livestock.
schizodeme — A classification of T. cruzi strains based on electrophoretic mobility of kinetoplast DNA. See zymodeme.
Schizotrypanum cruzi — An early classification of Trypanosoma cruzi by Carlos Chagas that was later changed because the parasite fit better into the trypanosome genus.
Secretaria Nacional de Salud — Bolivia’s ministry of health, which sponsors clinics, hospitals, and medical personnel throughout rural and urban areas of Bolivia. It was previously called Ministerio de Prevision Socialy Salud Publica (MPSSP) until 1993 when the name was changed.
seropositive — Positive results in a serological test; i.e., shows the presence of specific antibodies to T. cruzi. These tests are indirect in that they do not detect the parasite, nor are they capable of determining the prevalence of the parasite. People who test seropositive for Chagas’ disease usually have a direct examination of xenodiagnosis to determine the population and strain of the parasite.
shamans — A generalized term used to refer to traditional healers who use rituals and magical paraphernalia to heal.
sindicatos — Regional political organizations with vested power from the government.
Signo de Romana — See Romana’s Sign.
Spanish Conquest — In 1532 Spaniards conquered Andean regions and began europeanizing Andean ethnic groups by imposing the Spanish language and Western economic systems (e.g., encomiendas, haciendas, work tribute, taxes) and by missionization. Effects of this colonization continue today. Many in the Andean ethnic groups have strongly resisted these efforts at Westernization and continue to follow deeply rooted Aymara and Quechua traditions.
stercoria — Refers to trypanosomes, such as T. cruzi, that develop in an insect’s intestines and are deposited in its fecal matter. See salivaria.
superinfection — A second infection of a host that already is infected by the same species of parasite.
surveillance — The periodic collection of data in an area to detect changes in infection rates, prevalence, and vector infestation.
sylvatic cycle — The existence of vectors, parasites, and wild-animal hosts in a cycle not dependent on humans, human habitation, and domestic animals.
synanthropic animals — Animals that live close to humans, such as cats, dogs, mice, rats, opossums, et cetera.
T transfusional transmission — Infection with T. cruzi from transfused blood or other blood products.
Triatoma — A genus of insect, along with the genera Panstrongylus and Rhodnius, that are vectors of Chagas’ disease; common names include triatomid and reduviid.
Triatoma brasiliensis — A triatomine vector of Chagas’ disease in Latin America.
Triatoma dimidiata — A triatomine vector of Chagas’ disease in Latin America.
Triatoma infestans (T. infestans) — The most important vector of Chagas’ disease in Bolivia, where it is called vinchuca.
Triatoma sordida — A triatomine vector of Chagas’ disease in Latin America.
triatomines — Refers to members of the Triatominae, a subfamily of the family Reduviidae. Triatomines are characterized by their bloodsucking (hematophagous) ability, and certain species carry the parasite T. cruzi. Sixty-eight species are recorded as infected with Trypanosoma cruzi.
Trypanosoma brucei gambiense — A flagellate protozoan that lives in the blood of cattle and humans, causing African sleeping sickness; tsetse flies are the vectors.
Trypanosoma cruzi (T. cruzi) — The causative agent of Chagas’ disease in many animals and humans. It is transmitted by bloodsucking insects (triatomines) belonging to the family Reduviidae. It is a flagellate protozoan that transforms within the triatomine’s gut into metacyclic trypomastigotes that are infective to mammals, where it transforms into intracellular amastigotes and trypomastigotes.
trypanosomes — Protozoa parasites which are classified together because during one stage of their lives they live in the blood and/or tissues of vertebrate hosts, and during other stages they live in the intestines of bloodsucking invertebrate vectors (Schmidt and Roberts 1989). Includes T. cruzi, T. gambiense, and T. rhodesiense, which cause diseases of man, and T. brucei, T. congolense, and T. evansi, which cause diseases of domestic animals.
trypanosomiasis — Infection caused by trypanosomes, protozoa parasites from the genus Trypanosoma (T.). T. gambiense and T. rhodesiense cause African trypanosomiasis, commonly referred to as African sleeping sickness; T. cruzi causes American, or South American, trypanosomiasis, commonly referred to as Chagas’ disease.
trypomastigote — The form of Trypanosoma cruzi which can exist in the blood of humans; it is typically C-shaped with a large kinetoplast and free flagellum. Also called Tryps.
tsetse — A bloodsucking fly of the genus Glossina, known as the carrier, or vector, of Trypanosoma gambiense and Trypanosoma rhodesiense, the protozoan parasites that cause African sleeping sickness.
Tupi-Guarani — A term used to refer to many ethnic groups that live in the departments of Tarija, Santa Cruz, Beni, and Pando in Bolivia. It is a broad term that it is not very culture specific.
turqasina — An Andean institution which refers to bartering produce for produce of equivalent value.
U uxorlocal — A situation in which, after marriage, a husband goes to live with his wife.
V vaccine — A suspension of infectious agents or some part of them, given for the purpose of establishing resistance to an infectious disease.
vector — An agent of transmission; a biological vector is a carrier, especially the animal which transfers an
