Ecological study of snakebites in Minas Gerais, Brazil, 2007 to 2019: mapping of risk areas and correlation with urbanization and agricultural work

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Ophidism is a neglected public health problem in many tropical countries. In Brazil, about 27,000 snakebites are recorded per year. The objective of this study is to describe the epidemiological profile of snakebite in Minas Gerais, Brazil, mapping risk areas, and correlating the incidence of accidents with urbanization and agricultural work. METHODS: Ecological study that analised the 853 municipalities of Minas Gerais (2007-2019), using data from Notifiable Diseases Information System: municipality of occurrence, age, sex, education, race, time to care, snake, severity, clinical evolution. The degree of municipal urbanization and the percentage of agricultural workers were obtained on IBGE. We assessed and mapped risk areas for snakebite in the state. RESULTS: The 41,725 reported cases affected mostly men (75.1%), young (40.5%), and brown (43.97%). The high-risk regions were Leste do Sul, Leste, Vale do Aço, and Nordeste. The incidence of snakebites was negatively correlated with level of urbanization (r=-0.22/p<0.0001) and positively correlated with percentage of agricultural workers (r=0.52/p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The characterization of snakebites in the state follows the national pattern. Risk areas are unevenly distributed, highlighting the roles of urbanization and agricultural work in the incidence of the injury.

Keywords

• snake bites
• risk assessment
• epidemiologic studies
• social determinants of health