The public viewed with skepticism, if not suspicion, the actions of “mosquito killers” who go into homes in search of insect breeding grounds.
The campaign had been orchestrated by Oswaldo Cruz as a military operation; the city was divided into ten districts, and each was given a name by Cruz in the picturesque telegraphic code he used: Frontal, Occipital, Maxilla, Humerus, Ulna, Radius, Carpus, Femur, Tibia, Tarsus.
This anatomical nomenclature was not enough to convince doctors, who remained suspicious; during a meeting of the National Academy of Medicine, Dr. Costa Ferraz argued that the battle against disease should be waged by cleaning the soil. Without delay, Oswaldo Cruz became the favorite target of storywriters, humorists and caricaturists.
