A survey of accidents by venomous animals in the semi-arid of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil: 2000 to 2008

Abstract

Accidents with venomous animals, even in urban areas, are considered a public health problem in Brazil and in many parts of the world. It has been reported accidents with scorpion, spider, bee, fresh water fish, caterpillars (more recently) and snakebite, the last considered the most frequent accident. Based on data provided by SINAN (Information System Diseases and Notification) it was performed a survey on occupational accidents by venomous animals from the year of 2000 to 2008. It was found that from 147 registered cases, 81 (55.10%) were attacks by snakes and 34 (23.13%) by scorpions, with a greater involvement in men aged between 10 to 34 years and residing in urban area (52.4%). The main site of the bite was in the lower limb (foot) with 36.7% of appointments, 57.8% of cases were considered mild aggression, 20.4% moderate and 2.0% severe. The clinical evolution presented favorable, with 83.7% (n = 123) of cure and only 0.6% (n = 1) presented sequels after treatment. Although appointments after attacks by venomous animals have been increased, many people do not seek help because of the absence of appropriate knowledge, resulting in sub-notification. Keywords: Venom, snakes, spider, scorpion.