HUMAN ENVENOMATIONS DUE TO SNAKEBITES IN MARILIA, STATE OF SÃO PAULO, BRAZIL. A RETROSPECTIVE EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDY

L. P. S. SGARBI(1), M. ILIAS(1), T. MACHADO(1), L. ALVAREZ(1), B. BARRAVIERA(2,3).

(1)Department of  Internal Medicine of the School of  Medicine of Marília, State of São Paulo, Brazil; (2)Department of Tropical Diseases of the School of Medicine of Botucatu - UNESP, State of São Paulo, Brazil; (3)Center for the Study of Venoms and Venomous Animals - CEVAP - UNESP, State of São Paulo, Brazil.

ABSTRACT.  Eighty-four patients bitten by venomous snakes were studied retrospectively at the School of Medicine of Marilia  from January 1990 to August 1994. The majority of these patients were rural workers, 65 (77.38%) males and 19 (22.62%) females, aged eight to seventy-five. Forty-three  (51.19%) patients were diagnosed as having  been bitten  by snakes of the genus  Bothrops  and 41 (48.81%) by Crotalus.   Fifty-eight patients (69.04%) were bitten  in the legs  and 26 (30.96%) in the arms. January, March, April and November were the months of higher incidence of bothropic envenomations, while crotalic envenomations were not recorded  only in August and  September. This study  showed  that the prevalence of crotalic envenomations in Marilia  was higher than that of any other regions in Brazil. Further prospective epidemiological studies  are needed for a better  understanding of these findings.

KEY WORDS: envenomations, Bothrops snakes, Crotalus snakes, retrospective epidemiological study.

CORRESPONDENCE TO:

L. P. S. SGARBI - Rua São Miguel, 361 - CEP 17.540-040 - Marilia - São Paulo - Brasil.