Abstract
Envenoming snakebites are thought to be a particularly important threat to public health worldwide, especially in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries. The true magnitude of the public health threat posed by snakebites is unknown, making it difficult for public health officials to optimize prevention and treatment. The objective of this work was to conduct a systematic review of the literature to gather data on snakebite epidemiology in the Amazon region and describe a case series of snakebites from epidemiological surveillance in the State of Amazonas (1974-2012). Only 11 articles regarding snakebites were found. In the State of Amazonas, information regarding incidents involving snakes is scarce. Historical trends show an increasing number of cases after the second half of the 1980s. Snakebites predominated among adults (20-39 years old; 38%), in the male gender (78.9%) and in those living in rural areas (85.6%). The predominant snake envenomation type was bothropic. The incidence reported by the epidemiological surveillance in the State of Amazonas, reaching up to 200 cases/100,000 inhabitants in some areas, is among the highest annual snakebite incidence rates of any region in the world. The majority of the cases were reported in the rainy season with a case-fatality rate of 0.6%. Snakebite envenomation is a great disease burden in the State of Amazonas, representing a challenge for future investigations, including approaches to estimating incidence under-notification and case-fatality rates as well as the factors related to severity and disabilities.
Highlights
Envenoming snakebites are thought to be a important threat to public health worldwide, especially in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries
A snakebite is an injury caused by a bite from a snake, often resulting in puncture wounds inflicted by the animal's fangs and in some cases resulting in envenomation
The true magnitude of the public-health threat posed by snakebites in these countries is unknown, which makes it difficult for public health officials to optimize prevention and treatment(1) (2) (3) (4)
Summary
Envenoming snakebites are thought to be a important threat to public health worldwide, especially in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries. The incidence reported by the epidemiological surveillance in the State of Amazonas, reaching up to 200 cases/100,000 inhabitants in some areas, is among the highest annual snakebite incidence rates of any region in the world. Snakebites occur worldwide, envenoming snakebites are thought to pose a important yet largely neglected threat to public health in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries. The true magnitude of the public-health threat posed by snakebites in these countries is unknown, which makes it difficult for public health officials to optimize prevention and treatment(1) (2) (3) (4). The importance of envenoming snakebites is revealed by the high number of reported cases in the Brazilian Information System of Notifiable Diseases [Sistema Nacional de Agravos de Notificação (SINAN)].
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