EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ACCIDENTS WITH POISONED ANIMALS: CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS FOR COLLECTIVE HEALTH

Resumo

INTRODUCTION: Venomous animals have glands, which produce venom, and specialized structures, such as stingers or teeth, to inject it into prey/predators. Examples include spiders, scorpions, caterpillars, bees and snakes. In Brazil, accidents involving these animals are considered a serious public health issue, ranking second in human poisoning episodes. Data on the epidemiology of accidents is important for formulating public health policies, with a focus on combating and preventing cases. Although there are Ministry of Health systems that centralize accident notifications, regional information on occurrence patterns is incipient. OBJECTIVE: The following study aims to verify and analyze epidemiological data on accidents caused by venomous animals in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, from 2007 to 2023, by consulting national information systems. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The searches were carried out in the National Notifiable Diseases System (SINAN), and the variables were collected using TabNet and TabWin tabulators. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: A total of 95,741 accidents were recorded for the period analyzed; of these, the majority were caused by spiders (51%), followed by snakes (15%), bees (11%), caterpillars (6.7%), scorpions (5.5%) and others (4.6%). More than 70% of poisonings were classified in the mild category. Snakes accounted for the highest numbers in the serious accident category. The number of deaths in the period analyzed was 94 cases, with bees and snakes accounting for 36% and 35% respectively of deaths from poisoning in the state. The annual distribution of accidents shows that males were most affected, accounting for 53,999 cases (56.40%). With regard to age group, accidents prevailed among individuals aged between 40 and 59 among men (16,664 cases, 31.18%) and between 20 and 39 among women (13,155 cases, 31.4%). The development of this work, which is still in progress, will make it possible to understand the epidemiological situation of accidents caused by venomous animals in Rio Grande do Sul and will thus serve as a basis for future research, as well as subsidizing decisions aimed at promoting public health in the state.