Tuberculosis en pueblos indígenas del Pacífico colombiano. Aspectos culturales relacionados con la transmisión, diagnóstico y tratamiento

Indigenous peoples are a very vulnerable population group to contract tuberculosis (tb) disease; The incidence of tb in Colombia during 2020 was 27 per 100 thousand inhabitants, while in the indigenous peoples of Choco it has been reported at 192 per 100 thousand inhabitants. This work shows the results of a qualitative study, with an ethnographic approach, in which the unstructured interview, participant observation and field diary were used to know and understand the cultural practices of the emberá dobidá people regarding this disease. For the emberá dobidá of Choco, tb known in their language as osso jai has a spiritual origin, in which an evil “spirit” is involved that enters the body, destroying the lung, until causing death. The reasons why this “spirit” enters the body are two: for transgressing any collective norm that threatens the territory (punishment); or by a “done thing”, that is, obeying the bad intention of someone who sends this “spirit”. The treatment for its cure is in charge of the jaibaná, who must expel the spirit through a ritual. This town does not consider that tb is transmitted between people, which can favor its spread. The symbolic efficacy of the treatment ritual used generates beneficial effects on patients. It would be important to establish a dialogue of knowledge that complements this traditional knowledge and allows and improves the control of the disease.