FOLIA INSTITUTO DE INVESTIGACIONES DE LA Amazónica AMAZONÍA PERUANA NOTA CIENTÍFICA CHARACTERIZATION OF SNAKEBITES IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF TABATINGA, IN THE WEST OF THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON Fabiano WALDEZ1*, Weslei Valteran dos SANTOS2, Maurício Papa de ARRUDA1, Érick André Lima MACHADO1,2 1 Laboratory of Biology of the Federal Institute of Amazonas - IFAM Campus Tabatinga, Santos Dumont, s/n. Vila Verde. Tabatinga, Amazonas, Brazil. CEP 60640-000, e-mail: [email protected]* 2 Center for Higher Studies of Tabatinga, University of Amazonas State - CESTB/ UEA, Av. da Amizade, nº 74. Centro. Tabatinga, Amazonas, Brazil. CEP 60640-000. ABSTRACT largely neglected by tropical and subtropical developing countries (WHO, 2017). Harrison et al. In Brazil there are more than 60 species of (2009) analyzed a hundred countries and found a venomous snakes and a greater diversity is found in strong negative relationship (the increase of one the Amazon. In the last two decades, more than 440,000 cases of snakebites have been recorded in variable influences the decrease of the other) Brazil, averaging more than 20,000 a year, in greater between deaths caused by snakebites accidents and quantity and lethality in the northern region of the public spending on health. In these countries, country. In western Brazilian Amazonia studies of ophidic accidents mainly affect the rural population, ophidic accidents are more frequent in the mainly to agricultural workers in the performance of Colombian Amazon, with little information for labor activities, and is therefore considered an Brazilian territory. In order to reduce this occupational disease that has a negative impact on information gap, this study analyzed available data food production and the economy of these countries on snakebites for this region and carried out (Harrison et al., 2009; Warrel, 2010; WHO, 2017). information collection in the field to make an initial In Brazil, more than 60 species of venomous characterization of ophidic accidents in the city of snakes from the families Elapidae (true corals) and Tabatinga, Amazonas state, Brazil. Our results Viperidae (rattlesnake, pit vipers and bushmaster) showed that the Upper Solimoes River region (Costa & Bérnils, 2015) were reported for the represents one of the largest species diversity of Amazon (Bernade, 2014). In the last two decades, venomous snakes in the Brazil, with the occurrence more than 440,000 cases of ophidic accidents have of 16 species from more than 25 species registered to been recorded in Brazil, an average of more than 20 the Amazonas state. In spite of this high diversity, the thousand a year, and the historical series of the last interviews pointed to a prevalence of the Bothrops 16 years has shown an occurrence of snakebite atrox snake in local cases of snakebites, in accidents in more quantity and lethality in the North agreement with the pattern of bothropic accident region of the country, where the incidence of these already described for the south of the Colombian accidents (/100,000 inhabitants) was more than Amazon and for the Amazonas state of Brazil. twice the national average (Ministerio da Saude, However, future studies on ophidic accidents in the 2017). Upper Solimoes River region should reveal a greater In the northern region of the country, the state of participation of arboreal pit vipers snakes, such as Amazonas stands out because it presents some of the Bothrops bilineatus, and the bushmaster snake highest rates of incidence and mortality related to Lachesis muta, as reported in analyzes of snakebites snakebites in Brazil (Feitosa, Sampaio et al., 2015; in the Brazilian Amazon and the southern Ministerio da Saude, 2017). These numbers reflect Colombian Amazon. the difficulties to provide preventive measures and antiofidic serum treatment to the traditional KEYWORDS: epidemiology; ophidic accident; public Amazonian people (caboclos and indigenous health people) who survive from farming, hunting, fishing and logging and non-timber products, usually organized in communities far from urban areas and INTRODUCTION in difficult to reach places, which increases the Accidents with venomous snakes are considered underreporting of ophidic accidents in this region by the World Health Organization (WHO) a disease (Bernade, 2014). 99 VOL. 26 (1) 2017: 99 - 102 DOI: https://doi.org/10.24841/fa.v26i1.422 FOLIA NOTA CIENTÍFICA: CHARACTERIZATION OF SNAKEBITES IN THE FOLIA NOTA CIENTÍFICA: CHARACTERIZATION OF SNAKEBITES IN THE Amazónica MUNICIPALITY OF TABATINGA, IN THE WEST OF THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON Amazónica MUNICIPALITY OF TABATINGA, IN THE WEST OF THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON In the western Brazilian Amazon, in the In order to collect information about how ophidic In the perception of the 16 families of farmers Feitosa, Sampaio et al. (2015) analyzed 9,174 microregion of the Upper Solimoes River, triple accidents affect the socioeconomic conditions of interviewed, there was a decrease in cases of ophidic accidents in the state of Amazonas, between frontier region of Brazil with Colombia and Peru, family farmers in this region, we conducted a field snakebites attributed to prevention actions (basically 2007 and 2012, and observed one of the lowest mean studies of ophidic accidents are more frequent in the survey in the municipality of Tabatinga-AM in the access to information), and especially to the use of incidence rates in the state in the municipality of Colombian Amazon (Silva-Haad, 1982; 1994; year 2015, where farmers and their families were personal protective equipment, such as high boots Tabatinga (<31 cases/ 100,000). These snakebites Pineda et al., 2002), with little information for the interviewed with a semi-structured questionnaire and gloves. Also, due to the local practice of cutting occurred mostly in rural areas during the rainy Brazilian territory (see Oliveira, 2014; 2015). In previously prepared. with the machete the invading vegetation of the season and mainly affected rural workers in the order to reduce this information gap, this study Finally, in order to establish a pattern of ophidic crops, using a wooden handle to support the exercise of labor activities. analyzed available data on snakebites for this region accidents in the Upper Solimoes River region, vegetation, instead of using their own hands. The The same authors found a predominance of the and carried out data collection in the field to reveal secondary data on accidents with venomous animals farmers interviewed cited the white-tailed pit viper bothropic accidents (67,3%), followed by the an initial characterization of ophidic accidents in the made available in the epidemiological bulletin of the (Bothrops atrox) as the main local poisonous lachetic accidents (21,8%). This pattern of municipality of Tabatinga, Amazonas, Brazil. municipal health secretariat of Tabatinga (Oliveira, species, which caused most of the accidents in the prevalence was also reported for the northern region 2014; 2015) and on the national system of region. of Brazil (Bernade, 2014) and for the southern notification diseases - SINAN (Ministerio da Saude, All families reported that today events of ophidic Colombian Amazon (Silva-Haad, 1982; 1994; MATERIALS AND METHODS 2017). The information obtained in these databases Pineda et al., 2002), where the main species of accidents cause eventual damages that cause losses To generate an updated list of snakes of medical was standardized and compared with recent venomous snakes involved in snakebites accidents in agricultural production, mainly by weakening the interest that occur in the Upper Solimoes River analyzes of snakebites in the state of Amazonas were Bothrops atrox, Bothrops bilineatus and family workforce, moving away the worker region, we systematized the records of venomous (Feitosa, Sampaio et al., 2015), in the northern Lachesis muta. snakes made by the authors during several field region of Brazil (Bernade, 2014) and in the southern victimized for a long period of his work activities. works, carried out since 2010 in the surroundings of Colombian Amazon (Silva-Haad, 1982; 1994; However, in all cases of snakebite (N= 5) reported by Tabatinga-AM. These records were added with the Pineda et al., 2002). these family farmers, the victims were treated with CONCLUSIONS species cited by the specialized literature for western the antiofidic serum, which was accessible to this The Upper Solimoes River region represents one region of the Brazilian Amazon (Bernade, 2014; population due to the presence of the military of the largest species diversity of venomous snakes Feitosa, Sampaio et al., 2015; Feitosa et al., 2015), RESULTS hospital for more than 40 years in this region of in the Brazil, with the occurrence of 16 species for the southern Colombian Amazon (Silva-Haad, For the Upper Solimoes River region, 16 species international border. (Table 1) of the more than 25 species registered for 1982; 1994; Pineda et al., 2002) and those related to of venomous snakes, six species from Viperidae Another interesting quote by the farmers was the Amazonas (see Bernade, 2014; Feitosa et al., the region in the online database The Reptile family and 10 species from Elapidae family (Table related to the medium and large species of non- 2015; Uetz et al., 2017). In spite of this high Database (Uetz et al., 2017). 1) were collected. venomous snakes from Boidae family (anaconda, diversity, the interviews pointed to a prevalence of common boa and rainbow boa), referred to as the Bothrops atrox snake in local cases of ophidic accidents, agreeing with the bothropic accident Tabla 1. List of venomous snakes species occurring in the Upper Solimoes River region, on the triple border of Brazil ravenous predators of poultry (chickens, ducks and pattern already described for the south of the with Colombia and Peru, in western Brazilian Amazonia. geese), an event which often causes economic losses for these breeders. Colombian Amazon (Silva-Haad, 1982; Pineda et The epidemiological bulletins of the municipal al., 2002), for the state of Amazonas (Feitosa, Species Family Registry Source Sampaio et al., 2015) and for the northern region of health secretariat of Tabatinga, from the years 2014 Brazil (Bernade, 2014).