Maraña: War and Disease in the Jungles of Colombia

by Lina Pinto-García

Delves into the relationship between war and disease, focusing on Colombian armed conflict and the skin disease known as cutaneous leishmaniasis.

 

Cutaneous leishmaniasis, transmitted by female sandflies, produces skin lesions of varying size and shape. In Colombia, the insect vector of the disease is native to the same forested environments that have served as the main stage for one of the longest and most violent wars in Latin American history. As a result, the populations most affected by leishmaniasis in Colombia are members of the state army and nonstate armed groups.

 

Lina Pinto-García explores how leishmaniasis and the armed conflict are inextricably connected and mutually reinforcing. Maraña means “tangle” in Spanish but is also commonly used in Colombia to name the entangled greenery, braided lianas, and dense foliage that characterize the tropical forests where leishmaniasis transmission typically occurs. Pinto-García argues that leishmaniasis and the war are not merely linked but enmarañadas to each other through narratives, technologies, and practices produced by the state, medicine, biomedical research, and the armed conflict itself. All told, Maraña is a passionate study of how war has shaped the production of scientific knowledge about leishmaniasis and access to its treatments in Colombia.

221 pages, Paperback

Published April 29, 2025

Reviews

[Richard McColl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Leishmaniasis is labeled as a “neglected tropical disease” because it affects marginalized populations in developing contexts that do not represent a profitable market for pharmaceutical companies. As it entails a highly uncertain, risky, and time-consuming process that will not necessarily result in enough or immediate returns, the development of pharmaceuticals for diseases such as leishmaniasis tends to be regarded as an uninteresting business.

This book by Lina Pinto-Garcia explains the reality of leishmaniasis in Colombia and how one cannot extract the tropical disease from the armed conflict and the people caught in its wake in rural and jungle regions of the country. Essential reading.

[Leon Walther · Rating 5 out of 5]

Highly insightful book into the complex connections of Cutaneous Leishmaniasis and the guerilla conflict in Colombia! A must read for everyone interested in understanding the complex nature of how a conflict can influence various different aspects of infectious diseases.