Second record of Tityus bahiensis (Scorpiones, Buthidae) from Venezuela: epidemiological implications

Abstract

This work reports the second record of the scorpion Tityus bahiensis Perty from Venezuela. The specimen was found alive in a wardrobe at a hotel resort in Margarita Island, northeastern Venezuela. Morphological characterization allowed its assignment to the Tityus bahiensis population inhabiting the southernmost area of the species' geographic range, e.g. the state of São Paulo in Brazil, northern Argentina and Paraguay. The fact that the only available Venezuelan antiscorpion (anti-Tityus discrepans) serum does not neutralize the effects of alpha-and betatoxin from Tityus serrulatus venom (which resembles in composition that of T. bahiensis) constitutes a warning to local clinicians confronted with envenomations by noxious species transported to Venezuela from Brazil by human agency.

Envenomation by the Scorpion Tityus breweri in the Guayana Shield, Venezuela: Report of a Case, Efficacy and Reactivity of Antivenom, and Proposal for a Toxinological Partitioning of the Venezuelan Scorpion Fauna

“…at the Laboratory of Toxinology, School of Health Sciences, Universidad de Oriente, Anzoátegui Campus, Venezuela, home of one of the largest Venezuelan arachnid collections, 16 based on this center′s previous research on Tityus taxonomy. 12 ,16,30…”

“…at the Laboratory of Toxinology, School of Health Sciences, Universidad de Oriente, Anzoátegui Campus, Venezuela, home of one of the largest Venezuelan arachnid collections, 16 based on this center=s previous research on Tityus taxonomy. 12,16,30 Venom from T zulianus and T discrepans was pooled from 10 scorpions and from 4 scorpions in the case of T breweri. Venom was obtained by manual stimulation of the telson (the last caudal segment) by forcing the animals to sting repeatedly onto Parafilm (Sigma Chemicals, St Louis, MO) sheets 31 and subsequently lyophilized at Ϫ50°C and 80 mBar of pressure.…”

“…10 The relevance of a proper taxonomic identification of the offending scorpion is also warranted taking into account that allopatric species can be imported into areas where they do not occur and/or are occasionally extralimital. 11,12 Given the diversity in antigenic terms among scorpion toxins targeting ion channels in excitable cells (responsible for Ͼ90% of the lethality of scorpion venoms), the effective use of antivenoms is restricted to the neutralization of venoms that are cross-reactive, which complicates clinical management using heterologous antivenom. 13,14 As part of a current survey of the fauna inhabiting the lower Cuyuní River, in the Guayana Highlands (northeast Bolívar State, Venezuela) ( Figure 1), this work reports on the association of a clinical case with a scorpion species identified taxonomically as Tityus breweri.…”