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. 2020 Feb 21:53:e20190377.
doi: 10.1590/0037-8682-0377-2019. eCollection 2020.

Increase in the risk of snakebites incidence due to changes in humidity levels: A time series study in four municipalities of the state of Rondônia

Alex Augusto Ferreira E Ferreira  1 , Valdison Pereira Dos Reis  1 , Charles Nunes Boeno  1 , Jaina Rodrigues Evangelista  1 , Hallison Mota Santana  1 , Suzanne Nery Serrath  1 , Jéssica Amaral Lopes  1 , Cristina Matiele Alves Rego  1 , Maria Naiara Macedo Tavares  1 , Mauro Valentino Paloschi  1 , Neriane Monteiro Nery  1 , Alessandra da Silva Dantas  2 , Moreno Magalhães S Rodrigues  3 , Juliana Pavan Zuliani  1   4
Affiliations

Increase in the risk of snakebites incidence due to changes in humidity levels: A time series study in four municipalities of the state of Rondônia

Alex Augusto Ferreira E Ferreira et al. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. .

Abstract

Introduction: Snakebites represent a serious global public health problem, especially in tropical countries. In Brazil, the incidence of snakebites ranges from 19 to 22 thousand cases per 100000 persons annually. The state of Rondônia, in particular, has had an increasing incidence of snakebites.

Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study on snakebites was conducted from January 2007 to December 2018. Brazil's Information System for Notifiable Diseases was queried for all snakebites reported in Porto Velho, Ariquemes, Cacoal, and Vilhena. Data on land surface temperatures during the day and night, precipitation, and humidity were obtained using the Google Earth Engine. A Bayesian time series model was constructed to describe the pattern of snakebites and their relationship with climate data.

Results: In total, 6326 snakebites were reported in Rondônia. Accidents were commonly caused by Bothrops sp. (n=2171, 81.80%). Snakebites most frequently occurred in rural areas (n=2271, 85.5%). Men, with a median age of 34 years (n=2101, 79.1%), were the most frequent bitten. Moderate clinical manifestation was the most common outcome of an accident (n=1101, 41.50%). There were clear seasonal patterns with respect to rainfall, humidity, and temperature. Rainfall and land surface temperature during the day or night did not increase the risk of snakebites in any city; however, changes in humidity increased the risk of snakebites in all cities.

Conclusion: This study identified the population exposed to snakes and the influence of anthropic and climatic factors on the incidence of snakebites. According to climate data, changes in humidity increased the risk of snakebites.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: There are no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

FIGURE 1:
FIGURE 1:. Time series of snakebite incidence and climatic variables in four cities of Rondônia, Brazil (2007-2018). The blue and purple lines are the series of the average maximum and minimum temperatures, respectively.
FIGURE 2:
FIGURE 2:. Temporal trends of the relative risk (RR) of snakebites by month from January 2007 to December 2018 in the following cities in the state of Rondonia, Brazil: (A) Porto Velho, (B) Ariquemes, (C) Cacoal, and (D) Vilhena.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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