Health-risk assessment of Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) envenomations on urban beaches in São Luís city, in the state of Maranhão, Brazil.

Salvatore Siciliano,Jorge Luiz Silva Nunes,Vidal Haddad Júnior,Mayana Mendes E Silva Cavalcante,Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis,Zulimar Márita Ribeiro Rodrigues

doi:10.1590/0037-8682-0216-2020

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: The Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) is a cosmopolitan species, with a widespread distribution and responsible for a great number of injuries caused by cnidarians worldwide, including Brazil. Geoprocessing technology, however, has never been used to assess the spatial distribution of these animals on beaches. The aim of this study was to carry out a health risk assessment of Portuguese man-of-war (P. physalis) envenomations on the São Marcos and Calhau beaches in São Luís city, in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. METHODS: This is a descriptive and quantitative study concerning primary data on the occurrence of the Portuguese man-of-war (P. physalis) and human envenomations in the studied places, conducted over a two-year period in São Luís, Maranhão, northeastern Brazil. RESULTS: Envenomations mainly occurred on beaches presenting high density of P. physalis during the dry period. Vinegar has been incorporated as a first aid, according to recommendations set by the Brazilian Ministry of Health. CONCLUSIONS: In order to improve prevention and control actions of human envenomation, risk areas for this type of envenomation should be clearly indicated as alert areas. Inclusion of the geographical location of the envenomation in the Notification/Investigation SINAN Form was suggested for allowing the continuity of studies involving this public health issue.

Highlights

The Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) is a cosmopolitan species, with a widespread distribution and responsible for a great number of injuries caused by cnidarians worldwide, including Brazil
The highest occurrence of Portuguese man-of-war specimens coincided with the highest occurrence of human envenomations on Calhau beach, as both are close to the lifeguard station
The high number of P. physalis organisms found during the two years of this assessment indicate a risk of human envenomations on the beaches in the study region

Summary

Introduction

The Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) is a cosmopolitan species, with a widespread distribution and responsible for a great number of injuries caused by cnidarians worldwide, including Brazil. The aim of this study was to carry out a health risk assessment of Portuguese man-of-war (P. physalis) envenomations on the São Marcos and Calhau beaches in São Luís city, in the state of Maranhão, Brazil. The Portuguese man-of-war (Physalia physalis) is a conspicuous colonial cnidarian with a bluish-pink coloration. It presents a gas vesicle called a pneumatophore with a triangular shape and folds in the upper portion[1]. Its multiple tentacles are capable of firing thousands of intracellular organelles (cnida) filled with venom and used for predation or defense P. physalis causes several socioeconomic problems in countries such as New Zealand, Australia, Portugal, Mexico, France, Spain, Chile[7], and Brazil, due to human envenomations and consequent impacts on the local tourist economy[8,9,10]

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