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

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...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
Main Authors: Mayana Mendes e Silva Cavalcante, Zulimar Márita Ribeiro Rodrigues, Rachel Ann Hauser-Davis, Salvatore Siciliano, Vidal Haddad Júnior, Jorge Luiz Silva Nunes
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2020
Subjects:
Physalia physalis
Geographic mapping
Venomous animals
Injury prevention
Public health
Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine
RC955-962
Arctic
Marcos
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0216-2020
https://doaj.org/article/51c77f4f053441419bf769c2913fb37b
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Summary: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.

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