Urbanization and increased cases of scorpionism in Brazilian cities

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Scorpionism is a growing problem in Brazil; the hot climate in most of the country makes it suitable for the proliferation in urban and domestic regions alike. The temperatures, low levels of basic sanitation and disorganized urbanization result in an perfect environment for scorpionic accidents. Objectives Analyze the urbanization of scorpion accidents in the State of São Paulo - SSP as a public health problem. Methods Observational and descriptive study with data from the National System of Notifiable Diseases - SINAN of the Department of Health of Brazil, with direct risk calculation, from the analysis of the incidence of accidents with scorpions in urban areas of SSP, in the period from 1975 to 2019. Results In SSP, accidents with scorpions increased 642% between the years 1975 and 2019 in the most densely urbanized nuclei: the cities of São Paulo, Guarulhos, Campinas, São Bernardo do Campo and Santo André. These cases are associated with increased mortality in children and the elderly and corresponded to 56.63% of the total accidents with venomous animals in the SSP. This increase in the occurrence of scorpionic accidents is associated with the behavior of the animal, which finds conditions for its proliferation in the urban environment facilitated by the absence of predators and becomes a relevant public health problem. Conclusions Urban areas have become a propitious environment to scorpions' proliferation. Urban dynamics, garbage and other urban waste displacement, human habitation, combined with deficiencies in infrastructure and basic sanitation, created the conditions for the emergence of accidents with scorpions in urban areas as a relevant public health problem with significant mortality numbers, especially vulnerable groups of elderly people and children, in the large urban centers of SSP, Brazil. Key messages Discuss the synanthropy and proliferation of venomous animals in urban centers. New public health challenges with the change of accidents with venomous animals from rural to urban areas.