Epidemiological situation of accidents by scorpions in Brazil in the last five years

In Brazil, scorpion occurrence is a very important public health since those accidents in humans is common due to geographical location, climate and socioeconomic structure. They cause envenomation by stinging humans, most of the times, to protect themselves. Accidents caused by arachnids frequently occur in every state of this country. Scorpions belong to Arachnida class, Scorpionidae order. There are more than 650 species around the world but in Brazil, three species of the Tityus genders are responsible for severe accidents: T. serrulatus (considered the most dangerous of all), T. bahiensis and T. stigmurus. Its can be life-threatening, especially for children and older individuals that may suffer from respiratory and/or cardiovascular diseases in the future. The statistics from specialized government institutions show that those accidents are more frequent inside homes or nearby them, and that chances of exposure to risk are larger among people who work at brick or wood storehouses and bookshops. Brazil was one of first countries in the world to start studies related to specific therapy against scorpion poisoning that is actually produced by Butantan Institute. In spite of the epidemiological and clinical data limitations, the Ministry of Health of Brazil show that a total of 219,225 scorpion sting cases were reported during last 5 years. Most of which, about 47.3%, occurred in the Northeastern region and 42.0% in the Southeast, North (5,0%), south (2,0%) and Center-west region (3.7%). Sting scorpions are annually responsible for about 50 deaths. Every year the government of Brazil purchases about 73,000 ampoules of antivenoms and distributes to the whole country. Scorpion stings in Brazil are important not only because of their incidence but also for their potential ability to induce severe, and often fatal, clinical situations, especially among children. The identification of the scorpion species is essential for indication of correct therapy.