Scorpions and scorpionism in Iran’s central desert

Abstract

Venomous scorpions have extreme importance in field of medicine and public health. This descriptive – analytic study was done to identify scorpion fauna, their ecological aspects as well as scorpionism for risk management and prevention of this health problem in Iran's central desert. Four urban and fifteen rural areas with various climates and topography locations were selected for monthly scorpion collection through a randomly cluster sampling in 2013. The clinical data was obtained from questionnaires provided in 2009–2014. Totally, 1481 scorpion sting cases were recorded. The majority were treated less than 6h after the sting. Statistical tests showed significant difference between season, scorpion’s color, living place of patients and scorpionism cases. Plain areas had the most occurrence of scorpionism followed by foothills. Moreover, 311 scorpion samples belonged to 7 species of Buthidae were collected. Mesobuthus eupeus was the dominant species in both rural and urban areas. Most of the collected samples were from indoors, yards and around the houses. The most scorpion activity was recorded in the summer. The studied areas had rich scorpion fauna due to various climates and topography locations. Scorpion stings can be important and fatal in this area, particularly in the plain regions with semi-desert climate. An investigation for assessment of peoples’ awareness on prevention methods of scorpionism and also the determination and the assessment of effective factors on reducing the elapsed time between scorpion stings and receiving medical care are here recommended.