Arachnidism in the municipality of Chapeco (SC) and associated factors

Abstract

Background and Objectives: the expansion of urban centers has resulted in an increase in the number of accidents caused by venomous animals, which can cause damage to the population’s health. The main accidents involving arachnids are associated with the genera Loxosceles and Phoneutria, due to the venom toxic effects in the human body. In this context, this study aimed to a) characterize the accidents caused by Loxosceles and Phoneutria spiders in the municipality of Chapecó, between 2010 and 2015 and b) to evaluate the association between recorded accidents and climatic seasonal factors. Methods: the notifications were obtained from the National Notification Aggravation Information System (SINAN) and the climatic records from the Environmental Resources and Hydrometeorology Information Center of Santa Catarina (Epagri / Ciram). Descriptive analysis of the frequencies was performed according to gender, age, area of residence and seasonality of the accidents for the characterization. Climatic records were correlated with frequencies using Pearson’s correlation test. Results: 287 accidents were reported in the assessed period, including 231 caused by Loxosceles and 56 by Phoneutria spiders. There was a predominance of accidents associated with the female gender, urban area and the economically active age group (20 to 59 years), as well as a positive association (p <0.05) between accidents and the maximum monthly temperatures. Conclusion: this study presents relevant information on the profiles of accidents involving spiders in the municipality of Chapeco and this information may be used to subsidize the planning and implementation of health education, accident prevention and patient care strategies.