Abstract
BackgroundEnvenomation remains a neglected public health issue in most tropical countries. A better understanding of the epidemiology of bites and stings by venomous animals should facilitate their prevention and management. This study aimed to explore the benefits that could be derived from the compulsory notification of cases as it is now routinely practiced in Brazil.MethodsThe Brazilian Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) was consulted online for the 2001–2012 period on all envenomations by venomous terrestrial animals. We studied the incidence, severity, number of deaths, gender, season of accident and time between the accident and hospital consultation.ResultsIn total, 1,192,667 accidents and 2,664 deaths from terrestrial venomous animals (snakes, scorpions, spiders, bees and caterpillars) were reported in Brazil during these 12 years, the circumstances of which are detailed in this study. Most envenomations and deaths were caused by snakebites and scorpion stings. However, incidence and mortality showed high regional variations. During this period, the steady and parallel increase of the cases from all the species resulted from several factors including the human population increase, gradual improvement of data collection system and, probably, environmental and socioeconomic factors affecting in a different way the incidence of envenomation by each zoological group and by region.ConclusionMandatory reporting of cases appears to be a useful tool to improve the management of envenomations. However, local studies should be continued to account for the variability of accident circumstances and refine measures necessary for their management.
Highlights
Envenomation remains a neglected public health issue in most tropical countries
Basic demographic and socioeconomic (Gross Domestic Product – GDP and Human Development Index – HDI) information was collected from the site of the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE, http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/)
The highest case fatality rates were observed after snakebite (0.43 %) and bee stings (0.33 %), while the lowest involved spider bites (0.06 %)
Summary
Envenomation remains a neglected public health issue in most tropical countries. A better understanding of the epidemiology of bites and stings by venomous animals should facilitate their prevention and management. This study aimed to explore the benefits that could be derived from the compulsory notification of cases as it is routinely practiced in Brazil. The evaluation of the incidence and mortality of envenomation is necessary to advocate measures that aim to reduce the accidents by venomous animal attacks and promote preventive and therapeutic measures, including the supply of appropriate amounts of antivenoms in places where they are most needed [1]. Envenomation remains a major neglected public health issue [2,3,4]. The notification of cases has been organized for thirty years, and since 2001 the data are directly
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