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10.1186/s40409-018-0145-z
 

Review - Vol. 24, 2018

 

Scorpionism by Hemiscorpius spp. in Iran: a review

 

Rouhullah Dehghani1, Fatemeh Kamiabi2, Malihe Mohammadi1

 

1 Social Determinants of Health (SDH) Research Center and Department of Environment Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran

2 Faculty of Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

 

ABSTRACT

Scorpions are distributed throughout Iran and the genus Hemiscorpius is particularly important in this region. Hemiscorpius lepturus is the most significant species within the genus in the country. Since scorpionism provoked by Hemiscorpius comprises a medical emergency, the present study is focused on this important issue. In order to perform the present work, a review of the medical and health-related literature was carried out in several databases. The current findings indicate that six species of Hemiscorpius are found in 15 states of Iran, mainly in the south and southwest. Deaths caused by stings were reported only for two species. The morphological characteristics and geographical distribution of H. lepturus in Iran, its venom and the toxic compounds, epidemiologic data and clinical manifestations of envenomation as well as treatment for affected people are herein reviewed and described. H. lepturus venom toxicity differs from other Iranian scorpions regarding duration and severity. Scorpionism is an important public health problem in Iran, especially in southwest and south regions and in urban areas. It is more prevalent in children and young people. H. lepturus venom is primarily a cytotoxic agent and has hemolytic, nephrotoxic and to some extent hepatotoxic activity. The use of polyvalent antivenom to prevent scorpion sting symptoms is recommended. A well-planned health education program might be useful in preventing scorpionism.

 

Keywords: Hemiscorpius; Scorpionism; Scorpion venom; Emergency; Epidemiology.

 

Received: August 04, 2017.

Accepted: February 14, 2018.

 

Correspondence: fkamiabi@yahoo.com

 

Authors' contributions

MM was responsible for collecting data. RD designed the study and analyzed the selected studies. FK was a major contributor in writing the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

 

Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.