Epidemiology of accidents involving venomous animals in the State of Ceará, Brazil (2007-2019)

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Jacqueline Ramos Machado Braga, Marta Maria Caetano de Souza, Iva Maria Lima de Araújo Melo, Luis Eduardo Meira Faria, Roberta Jeane Bezerra Jorge
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2021
• Subjects: Snakebite; Public health; Venom; Brazil; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0511-2020; https://doaj.org/article/8fdc80466dbf410eb9d1c23d167dfe4f

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Envenomation remains a neglected public health problem in most tropical countries. Epidemiological studies on accidents caused by venomous animals are scarce in the Northeast region of Brazil, mainly in the state of Ceará. The present study aimed to describe the epidemiological features of envenomation cases involving venomous animals in the State of Ceará, Northeastern Brazil, from 2007 to 2019. METHODS: The online Notifiable Diseases Information System was consulted for data on all envenomation cases involving venomous terrestrial animals. Data collected were evaluated for the number of accidents/year, number of accidents/zoological group, antivenom therapy, zone of occurrence, sex, age-group distribution, and deaths. RESULTS: A total of 54,980 cases were recorded, with the highest incidence being that of scorpion stings (67.2%), predominantly in women (52.4%; odds ratio=3.6; 95% confidence interval=3.5-3.8), equally affecting people aged 10-19 years and 40-59 years (21.4%), in the urban areas (odds ratio=10.3; 95% confidence interval=9.9-10.8), especially in the rainy months. Snakebites (16.7%) had an incidence of 8.1/100,000 inhabitants, but the highest case-fatality rates were observed in bee stings (1.3%) and spider bites (0.5%). Regarding therapeutic variables, a small percentage of people had access to serotherapy (5.3%). CONCLUSIONS This study highlights the accidents caused by terrestrial venomous animals as a public health problem that must be monitored in Ceará. Thus, our findings suggest that preventive actions against scorpion and bee stings should be intensified during the months of higher incidence to improve public policies for patient care.