Epidemiological study of scorpion stings in the Rio Grande do Norte State, Northeastern Brazil

• Main Authors: Kaliany Adja Medeiros de Araújo, Aluska Vieira Tavares, Michael Radan de Vasconcelos Marques, Alecxandro Alves Vieira, Renner de Souza Leite
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade de São Paulo
• Series: Revista do Instituto de Medicina Tropical de São Paulo
• Subjects: Arachnids; Envenomation; Public health
• Online Access: http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0036-46652017005000231&lng=en&tlng=en

ABSTRACT This communication is a retrospective epidemiological study of the scorpion sting cases recorded from 2007 to 2014 in the Rio Grande do Norte State, Northeastern Brazil. The data was collected from the Injury Notification Information System database of the Health Department of Rio Grande do Norte State. A total of 20,555 cases were studied. The cases were distributed over all months of the period studied and occurred mainly in urban areas. Victims were predominantly 20-29 year-old women. Most victims were stung on the foot and received medical care within 1-3 h after being stung. The cases were mostly classified as mild and progressed to cure. Scorpion stings in Rio Grande do Norte State are an environmental public health problem that needs to be monitored and controlled throughout the year.