Scorpion, spider and snake bites: in three years, there were more than 18,000 cases of poisoning

Between 2020 and 2022, More than 18,000 people were victims of poisoning from the bites of animals such as scorpions, spiders and snakes. Of those cases, there will be nine deaths. This is shown by a report from the Ministry of Health, which is relevant in its Epidemiological Bulletin the evolution of diseases that arise in Argentina.

In the latest report, which appeared until week 46 of the year 2022, it details that the highest proportion (78.7%) of bites by this type of animal corresponds to accidents with scorpions

In the case of the nine people who died in the period analysed, there were four deaths from scorpionism, three from aranism and two from ophidism (snake bites).

Scorpions: how to identify them and prevent accidents

Scorpions, spiders and snakes: data by province

The 24 provinces of the country registered cases of scorpion poisoning in the last three years. However, there are two provinces that concentrate more than half of the cases: 58.4% of the poisonings were recorded during the period analyzed in the provinces of Tucumán (5,060) and Córdoba (3,306).

Then, among the provinces with the most cases, La Rioja follows with 1,074 and Salta with 1,043, while Catamarca and Santa Fe exceed 800 cases.

In cases of araneism, 41% of the total reported during the period occurred in the provinces of Santiago del Estero and Mendoza, with 311 and 177 cases respectively.

Latrodectus (black widow) poisoning was the most frequent, with 957 reported cases, covering more than half (56.7%) of the total cases of araneism (1,685).

Finally, regarding the total number of poisonings by snakes, 2,177, 50% corresponds to the provinces of Misiones (443), Santiago del Estero (267) and Chaco (239).

Envenoming by snakes of the Bothrops genus (yarará) was the one that presented the largest number of cases (1,888), covering 86.7% of the total cases reported during the period of the last three years.

Bites: what you need to know to prevent them and care to take into account

Scorpions: Most accidents occur at home, so prevention must be aimed at avoiding entry into the home.

• Carry out a careful and periodic cleaning of the house and its surroundings, checking the weeds or brush, the debris, and always avoiding picking them up with your hands.
• Use grids that do not let animals through, or add wire or mosquito netting. Frequently check pipe inlets and outlets
• Put weather stripping on doors and windows. Revoke the walls, repair cracks in floors, walls and ceilings.

• Control underground chambers, basements, elevator shafts and holes in walls.
• Take special care when examining dark and damp places.
• Check and shake clothes and shoes before using them, especially if they were on the ground. Shake bedding before going to bed or putting babies or children to bed.
• Glass jars can be placed on the legs of the cradle to prevent the rise of scorpions.
• Use caution when examining drawers or shelves. Gradually remove the elements inside instead of introducing your hand or revolver.
• Wear closed shoes when walking in areas where scorpions or scorpions are known to be present.
• Never apply pesticides without consulting specialized personnel and always first follow the recommendations on prevention methods in the inhabited environment.

“In the face of a scorpion sting, it is important to make an immediate medical consultation, to evaluate the indication for the use of antivenom and to control the person in a care service. If the example was captured, it must be taken to the consultation for identification ”, recommends the Ministry of Health.

Spiders: To prevent accidents due to Loxosceles (“brown spider”, “violinist”), you must carry out careful and periodic cleaning of the houses and surroundings, taking into account that in Argentina accidents are mostly inside homes.

• Revoke the walls and place ceilings on the roofs, and when the case requires it, place woven wire on doors and windows.
• Examine and shake the clothes hanging on the walls or left to dry outside, as well as the shoes and any object deposited on the ground that can serve as a shelter.
• Caution should be exercised when handling old furniture and materials left in warehouses.
• Periodically check behind pictures, blackboards or other low-mobility objects hanging on the walls.
• Move the beds away from the walls.

To prevent accidents caused by Latrodectus (“black widow”), keep in mind that they are usually found in open places:

• Carry out the cleaning and periodic care of the houses and surroundings. Carefully inspect the means of locomotion and transportation (vehicles, suitcases, bags, fruit and vegetable boxes, briefcases) that will be brought into the homes.
• Be careful when removing debris, fallen logs, stones and when inserting your hands into holes in trees, walls, holes in the ground.
• Special care must be taken in endemic areas of Latrodectus when entering houses made of firewood, vegetables or materials that remained outside for a certain time, in order not to transport spiders into the home.
• Place woven wire on doors and windows.
• When going to work in rural areas where these spiders are found, wear long-sleeved shirts, boots, or secure pant cuffs with socks, wear shirt pinned up, and, if necessary, gloves.

To prevent accidents caused by Phoneutria (“banana spider”): pay special care when handling and transporting fruits, pieces of bananas, between the leaves of plants (banana, palm trees).

The recommendation of the Ministry of Health is that, before the bite of any species of spider, you must attend “urgently” to a health center for medical evaluation.

In the case of snakesWhen driving through areas where there are poisonous specimens, the following precautions must be taken:

• Wander carefully and, if possible, with local dogs (“sentinel animals”) that can warn of the presence of snakes.
• Wear protection, such as boots, gaiters, shin guards, or protectors. This is very important, as 75% or more of the world’s venomous snakes bite from the foot to the knee.
• In homes in areas with snakes, the surrounding short grass should be stabilized and debris removed.
• Vipers feed on rodents, and if they are around homes, they can attract them.
• Do not put your hands into holes or caves or lift stones or logs directly with your hands without taking preventive measures, since snakes can be found sheltering in these places.

AG PC