Scorpionism and Dangerous Species of Brazil

Pucca, Manuela Berto; Oliveira, Fagner Neves; Schwartz, Elisabeth Ferroni; Arantes, Eliane Candiani; Lira-da-Silva, Rejâne Maria

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6404-0_20

Cited by 14 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…[41,51]). Although T. obscurus can be encountered in urban areas [20], its preference for forest environments and low affinity for urban conditions may be responsible for the low population density in northern Brazil.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Among the many scorpion species encountered in Brazil, four belonging to the genus Tityus (T. bahiensis, T. serrulatus, T. obscurus, and T. stigmurus) are of considerable medical importance [20]. We collected data on their distribution by consulting the Global Biodiversity Information Facility database (GBIF, https://www.gbif.org/) and specialised literature (associated references are in the Supporting Information).…”

Section: Data Acquisition and Ecological Niche Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vulnerable areas to accidents with scorpions in Brazil

Amado

Moura

Riul

et al. 2021

Tropical Med Int Health

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objective To identify areas that present a higher risk of exposure to accidents with scorpions in Brazil.methods We used techniques of spatial prioritisation to determine the most vulnerable localities to envenomation by four scorpion species. Our prioritisation integrated ecological niche models with health investment, antivenin availability, access to health care facilities and metrics of human impact data.results The ecological niche models indicated that three scorpion species (Tityus bahiensis, Tityus serrulatus, and Tityus stigmurus) are more associated with human population density, while T. obscurus demonstrated a strong association with temperature variations during the year. Spatial prioritisation indicated that the areas with higher risk exposure to accidents with scorpions are in northern and northeastern Brazil. Alternatively, more isolated but densely populated areas in the southeastern and central regions also emerged as a priority.conclusion Mapping areas where humans are more likely to interact with scorpions can assist in the design of efficient public health policies.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Acquisition and Ecological Niche Modelingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerable areas to accidents with scorpions in Brazil

Amado

Moura

Riul

et al. 2021

Tropical Med Int Health

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“…Furthermore, T. stigmurus is widespread in north-eastern Brazil; it can be found in natural environments (Caatinga and Atlantic forest), but is mainly found in urban environments and can be considered a synanthropic species (Brasil 2009;De Souza et al 2009). The future prediction for this species should be carefully considered for its implication for human health risks because this species is the main agent of human scorpionism in north-eastern Brazil, including death Pucca et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential distribution patterns of scorpions in north‐eastern Brazil under scenarios of future climate change

et al. 2019

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Current predictions about the responses of species to climate change strongly rely on projecting altered environmental conditions on their distributions. In this study, we investigated the effects of future climate change scenarios on the potential distribution of 10 species of scorpions in north‐eastern Brazil in the context of their degree of specialisation to closed (Atlantic and Amazon Forests) and open (Caatinga and Cerrado) habitats. Scorpion species were classified as habitat specialists or generalists according to the IndVal index, and present and future species distribution models were prepared using minimum volume ellipsoids. According to IndVal, four species were classified as closed‐forest specialists (Ananteris mauryi, Tityus brazilae, Tityus pusillus and Tityus neglectus), four as open‐forest specialists (Jaguajir agamemnon, Jaguajir rochae, Physoctonus debilis and Bothriurus rochai), and two as generalists (Tityus stigmurus and Bothriurus asper). All species presented a drastic reduction in potential distribution, ranging from 44% to 72%, when compared with their current distribution. In addition, we found a reduction in scorpion species richness under future climate change scenarios. This finding has implications for scorpion conservation. Further, the results show that climate change may impact the composition of scorpion assemblages in north‐eastern Brazil, revealing important implications for human–scorpion interactions.

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“…Scorpionism is included in this scenario, in which Tityus serrulatus species is responsible for most of the accidents in the country, reaching numbers of over 100,000 reports in 2017 ( 5 – 7 ). In spite hereof, there are still many neglected accidents caused by other scorpion species in the Brazilian biome ( 6 ), such as the scorpion Rhopalurus crassicauda , which make the data underestimated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pioneering Study on Rhopalurus crassicauda Scorpion Venom: Isolation and Characterization of the Major Toxin and Hyaluronidase

et al. 2020

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Scorpionism is responsible for most accidents involving venomous animals in Brazil, which leads to severe symptoms that can evolve to death. Scorpion venoms consist of complexes cocktails, including peptides, proteins, and non-protein compounds, making separation and purification procedures extremely difficult and time-consuming. Scorpion toxins target different biological systems and can be used in basic science, for clinical, and biotechnological applications. This study is the first to explore the venom content of the unexplored scorpion species Rhopalurus crassicauda, which inhabits exclusively the northernmost state of Brazil, named Roraima, and southern region of Guyana. Here, we pioneer the fractionation of the R. crassicauda venom and isolated and characterized a novel scorpion beta-neurotoxin, designated Rc1, and a monomeric hyaluronidase. R. crassicauda venom and Rc1 (6,882 Da) demonstrated pro-inflammatory activities in vitro and a nociceptive response in vivo. Moreover, Rc1 toxin showed specificity for activating Na v 1.4, Na v 1.6, and BgNa v 1 voltage-gated ion channels. This study also represents a new perspective for the treatment of envenomings in Roraima, since the Brazilian scorpion and arachnid antivenoms were not able to recognize R. crassicauda venom and its fractions (with exception of hyaluronidase). Our work provides useful insights for the first understanding of the painful sting and pro-inflammatory effects associated with R. crassicauda envenomings.

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Scorpionism and Dangerous Species of Brazil

Cited by 14 publications

References 49 publications

Vulnerable areas to accidents with scorpions in Brazil

Vulnerable areas to accidents with scorpions in Brazil

Potential distribution patterns of scorpions in north‐eastern Brazil under scenarios of future climate change

Pioneering Study on Rhopalurus crassicauda Scorpion Venom: Isolation and Characterization of the Major Toxin and Hyaluronidase

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