Incidence related to accidents caused by venomous animals in the Northeast Region of Brazil: a spatial approach and spatio-temporal retrospective (2008 to 2017)

Abstract

Accidents with venomous animals correspond to the second cause of epidemiological notification in Brazil, with around 140 thousand cases registered in recent years, which constitutes a serious public health problem. This study aimed to analyze the epidemiological profile and the spatial and spatio-temporal patterns of the incidence of accidents by venomous animals in the Northeast region of Brazil, from 2008 to 2017. We carried out an epidemiological and observational study of an ecological nature, with tools for spatial analysis. To do so, we calculated the incidence rate of cases. The occurrence of spatial autocorrelation was verified and the spatial KullDorff statistics were used to identify risk clusters. A total of 486,001 cases were reported, of which 50.1% (244,122) of those affected were female, the age group most affected by accidents was >60 years, 70.6% (343,295) of accidents were caused by scorpions and 14.7% (71,620) by snakes. The state of Bahia had the highest number of accidents, followed by Pernambuco and Alagoas. The highest incidence rates are observed mainly in the states of Alagoas, Pernambuco, Maranhão and Bahia. There was an increase in accidents in the period studied. In addition, this study shows that the use of space tools collaborate positively to identify locations with a high incidence of accidents by venomous animals.