Snakebites in Rio Branco and surrounding region, Acre, Western Brazilian Amazon

Abstract

Introduction: Snakebites are considered a neglected tropical disease in many countries in Latin America, including Brazil. As few studies have assessed snakebites in the Amazon region and especially in the state of Acre, epidemiological studies are of great importance. The present study aimed to describe the epidemiological characteristics of snakebites in the Rio Branco region, observing their characteristics in rural and urban areas and their correlation with rainfall and river outflow. Methods: This retrospective, descriptive study analyzed epidemiological information obtained from snakebite notifications registered on the Information System for Notifiable Diseases that occurred from March, 2018 to February, 2019. The cases of snakebite were correlated with rainfall and flow. Results: A total of 165 cases of snakebite were registered in the period. Most cases were caused by Bothrops and affected mainly individuals of the male sex who were between 21 and 30 years old. Most of the snakebites occurred in Rio Branco (71.52%; 29 cases per 100,000 inhabitants). Of these, 60.2% occurred in the urban area and 39.8% in the rural area and the majority occurred during the rainy season. Conclusions: Although studies have shown that a majority of cases occur in rural areas, in this study, urbanization of snakebites was observed. The Bothrops genus was responsible for the highest number of snakebites and, during the rainy season, bites occurred more frequently. Educational prevention campaigns, population advice, and first aid in case of snakebites for the population are thus suggested.

Snakebites in the Mato Grosso state, Brazil: from 2007 to 2019

“…Studies have shown that the major involvement is in men, the reports varied from 64.85% to 88% of the cases (Feitosa et al 2015;Santos et al, 2017;Roriz et al, 2018;Vieira & Machado, 2018;Oliveira, 2020), corroborating with our finding. Age also varied, Santos et al (2017) reported 56.04% of accidents between 11 and 50 years, and Roriz et al (2018) between 20 and 49 years (75%).…”

“…The time that had elapsed between the accident and care being administered, in 66.19% of the cases, was up to 3 hours, which may have contributed to the evolution of cases, with the majority considered cured (89.25%), and only 0.74% of deaths due to snakebites (Table 2). These results corroborated with other studies carried out in Brazil where service time occurred up to 3 hours was associated with mild cases (Bonan et al 2010;Feitosa et al, 2015;Rita et al, 2016 ;Vieira & Machado, 2018;Silva et al, 2020;Oliveira et al, 2020). Roriz et al (2018) observed that the service time was more than 6 hours (72.7%), resulting in 50% of serious cases, the authors reported that the delay occurred due to the distance between the accident site and the center of treatment.…”

“…Other studies carried out in Brazil also reported that the genus Bothrops were responsible for the highest number of snakebites. In the Alto Juruá region (Amazon) corresponded to 88.7% (Silva et al 2020), in Rio Branco (Acre) 71.52% (Oliveira et al, 2020) and in Porto Velho (Rondonia) 95.6% (Roriz et al 2018).…”

“…Epidemiological studies in the region of the High Juruá (Amazon) during July 2017 to June 2018 revealed 133 cases of snakebites, representing 76.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (Silva et al, 2020). In Rio Branco (Acre) from March 2018 to February 2019 were recorded 165 cases representing 29 cases per 100,000 inhabitants (Oliveira et al, 2020). At the Rondonia Center for Tropical Medicine (Rondonia) 92 cases were followed up from September 2008 to September 2010 (Roriz et al 2018) Data collected were from the period of January 2007 to December 2019, related with snakebites by Bothrops, Crotalus, Micrurus and Lachesis genera, were excluded cases of ignored genus and non-venomous animals.…”

Providing Antivenom Treatment Access to All Brazilian Amazon Indigenous Areas: ‘Every Life has Equal Value’

“…Additionally, cultural factors that are firmly rooted among the riverine and indigenous populations in the Brazilian Amazon can also contribute to an individuals' decision not to seek proper medical care and, instead, opt for treatment using traditional medicine [10,11]. Thus, the current policy criteria for antivenom distribution in Brazil needs reviewing, since it deprives a considerable portion of the population living in the Brazilian Amazon from promptly accessing antivenom treatment.…”