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Epidemiologia E Servicos de Saude :... 2022to analyze the temporal trend of accidents involving venomous animals in Brazil from 2007 to 2019.
OBJECTIVE
to analyze the temporal trend of accidents involving venomous animals in Brazil from 2007 to 2019.
METHODS
this was a cross-sectional study carried out with data from the Notifiable Health Conditions Information System (SINAN). Prais-Winsten linear regression was used for the temporal analysis. We calculated incidence rates according to sex and age group, relative risk and case fatality ratio.
RESULTS
during the study period there were 2,102,657 cases of accidents involving venomous animals. With the exception of snakebite, the remaining accidents showed a rising temporal trend in most regions of the country. Scorpion stings, snake bites and spider bites were responsible for 86% of accidents, mainly affecting male people of working age. Accidents involving snakes (0.4%) and bees (0.3%) had the highest case fatality ratios. Children were the main victims of accidents involving bees, caterpillars and "others".
CONCLUSION
accidents involving venomous animals showed a rising temporal trend for most conditions, as well as different epidemiological profiles.
Topics: Male; Animals; Bees; Venoms; Brazil; Cross-Sectional Studies; Snake Bites; Accidents
PubMed: 36351057
DOI: 10.1590/S2237-96222022000300009 -
PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases Oct 2022Spiders of the genus Loxosceles are distributed throughout tropical and temperate regions worldwide. Loxosceles spp. bites may evolve to necrosis, with or without... (Observational Study)
Observational Study
BACKGROUND
Spiders of the genus Loxosceles are distributed throughout tropical and temperate regions worldwide. Loxosceles spp. bites may evolve to necrosis, with or without intravascular hemolysis. There is no consensus regarding the best treatment to prevent necrosis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the factors associated with the development of necrosis and the impact that antivenom administration has on the evolution of cutaneous loxoscelism.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS
This was a prospective observational study carried out at a referral center for envenoming. Over a 6-year period, we included 146 patients with a presumptive or definitive diagnosis of loxoscelism. Depending on the symptom severity, a polyvalent anti-arachnid antivenom was administered or not-in 74 cases (50.7%) and 72 cases (49.3%), respectively. Cutaneous and systemic manifestations were assessed at admission and weekly thereafter. Adverse reactions to the antivenom were also evaluated. Cutaneous loxoscelism was observed in 141 cases (96.6%), and the spider was identified in 29 (19.9%). The mean time from bite to antivenom administration was 41.6 ± 27.4 h. After discharge, 130 patients (90.9%) were treated with corticosteroids, antihistamines and analgesics being prescribed as needed. The probability of developing necrosis was significantly lower among the patients who were admitted earlier, as well as among those who received antivenom (p = 0.0245). Among the 74 patients receiving antivenom, early and delayed adverse reactions occurred in seven (9.5%) and four (5.4%), respectively. Local infection was observed only in three (2.3%) of the 128 patients for whom that information was available.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE
Necrosis after a Loxosceles sp. bite appears to more common when hospital admission is delayed or when antivenom is not administered. In addition, the administration of a polyvalent anti-arachnid antivenom appears to be safe, with a relatively low rate of adverse reactions.
Topics: Animals; Humans; Antivenins; Hospitalization; Necrosis; Spider Bites; Spider Venoms; Spiders; Prospective Studies
PubMed: 36240248
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pntd.0010842 -
Proceedings. Biological Sciences Aug 2022Senses form the interface between animals and environments, and provide a window into the ecology of past and present species. However, research on sensory behaviours by...
Senses form the interface between animals and environments, and provide a window into the ecology of past and present species. However, research on sensory behaviours by wild frugivores is sparse. Here, we examine fruit assessment by three sympatric primates (, and ) to test the hypothesis that dietary and sensory specialization shape foraging behaviours. and groups are comprised of dichromats and trichromats, while all are trichomats. We use anatomical proxies to examine smell, taste and manual touch, and opsin genotyping to assess colour vision. We find that the frugivorous spider monkeys () sniff fruits most often, omnivorous capuchins (), the species with the highest manual dexterity, use manual touch most often, and that main olfactory bulb volume is a better predictor of sniffing behaviour than nasal turbinate surface area. We also identify an interaction between colour vision phenotype and use of other senses. Controlling for species, dichromats sniff and bite fruits more often than trichromats, and trichromats use manual touch to evaluate cryptic fruits more often than dichromats. Our findings reveal new relationships among dietary specialization, anatomical variation and foraging behaviour, and promote understanding of sensory system evolution.
Topics: Animals; Cebus; Color Perception; Color Vision; Diet
PubMed: 35975434
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2022.0847 -
Cureus Jul 2022Spider bites, including the bites of recluse spiders (, also known as brown spiders), usually lead to local symptoms; however, severe systemic symptoms have also been...
Spider bites, including the bites of recluse spiders (, also known as brown spiders), usually lead to local symptoms; however, severe systemic symptoms have also been reported in the literature. Management of spider bites is based on symptoms. In severe cases involving the development of angioedema, hemolytic anemia, skin necrosis with superimposed bacterial infection or disseminated intravascular coagulation, antibiotics, steroids, blood transfusions, and plasma exchange may also play a role. We present a case of a brown recluse spider bite resulting in symptomatic hemolytic anemia and jaundice requiring blood transfusion.
PubMed: 35936160
DOI: 10.7759/cureus.26574 -
Venomous spiders of Albania -does an increase of temperature influence the toxicity of spider venom?Toxicon: X Sep 2022Black widow spiders ( sp.) are distributed worldwide, and in Albania the L. Rossi, 1790 has been the dominant spider. Other medically important spiders in Albania...
UNLABELLED
Black widow spiders ( sp.) are distributed worldwide, and in Albania the L. Rossi, 1790 has been the dominant spider. Other medically important spiders in Albania include the brown recluse with symptoms known as loxoscelism, the false black widow and the egg sac spiders; the last two inducing similar symptoms to a wasp sting.
METHODS
The data analyzed is from a decade-long study of 125 patients hospitalized in the regional hospital of Fier County, in the Western Lowland of Albania from May 2009 and to October 2018.
OBJECTIVE
Although the venom is rarely fatal, the recent spider bites raise questions about the influence of higher air temperatures on their possibly increased toxicity.
RESULTS
Significantly the severity of the α-latrotoxin rises during the summer, when human-spider contact frequency is higher and when the black widow spiders have an increased motivation to protect their egg sacs.
CONCLUSION
This study revealed an increased severity of the black widow bites with respect to patient health, shown via all the severe systemic symptoms, during those months with higher temperatures.
PubMed: 35935107
DOI: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2022.100135 -
Frontiers in Veterinary Science 2022spp. (brown spiders) bites are responsible for the development of a syndrome consisting mainly of dermonecrotic lesions, and also systemic effects. Rabbits are one of...
spp. (brown spiders) bites are responsible for the development of a syndrome consisting mainly of dermonecrotic lesions, and also systemic effects. Rabbits are one of the main experimental models used for better understanding the systemic and local effects of venom. The aim of this study is to evaluate the toxic and protective effects of rabbits immunized with spp. venom. Male New Zealand rabbits were allocated as a control group (CG; = 5) that received adjuvant (Montanide) and phosphate-buffer saline (PBS), or as venom group (VG; = 5) that received 21 μg of venom using Montanide as adjuvant. After five immunization cycles, a trial with 7 μg of (. ) venom was performed, and dermonecrotic lesions were measured. The rabbits were then euthanized, and their organs were collected for histopathology analysis. Rabbits that had undergone venom immunization protocol showed minor clinical disturbances during the experimental period. The used immunization protocol protected the rabbits against the toxic effect of the venom because they showed minor clinical disturbances during the experimental period.
PubMed: 35711800
DOI: 10.3389/fvets.2022.852917 -
Le Infezioni in Medicina 2022is a genus of aerobic actinomycetes that are usually responsible for opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients. Less frequently nocardiosis can interest...
is a genus of aerobic actinomycetes that are usually responsible for opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients. Less frequently nocardiosis can interest immunocompetent population, causing especially primary cutaneous infections. Cutaneous involvement by spp. may occur mostly as one of four clinical manifestations: superficial cellulitis or abscess, mycetoma, lymphocutaneous (also defined "sporotrichoid") infection and secondary cutaneous involvement from systemic disease. Infections usually present after minor local injury, especially in traumatic outdoor activities (. gardeners, farmers, road accidents), with subsequent environmental contamination of the wound. In sporadic cases cutaneous infection follows an insect bite. Microbiological diagnosis is often difficult to obtain and is the species isolated in most cases (80%). We present the case of a 45-year-old female with fever and a painful and necrotizing lesion on her right leg with secondary ascending lesions occurred on the homolateral knee and consensual groin lymphadenopathy after insect sting (maybe a spider bite). Cultures on skin biopsy identified . Infection was completely healed after 5 months of targeted antibiotic therapy. In addition, we performed a literature review of all cutaneous nocardiosis cases in immunocompetent individuals, finding that only in 22 cases the infection presented after insect bite; in most of these cases lymphocutaneous manifestation was seen and was the species isolated. Our case, along with others in literature, reveals that the real burden of soft-tissues nocardiosis seems low but probably many cases might go undiagnosed because of difficulties in microbiology diagnosis. Primary cutaneous nocardiosis should be included in the diagnostic pathway in cases of cellulitis following insect bite or sting, especially when localized to extremities.
PubMed: 35693062
DOI: 10.53854/liim-3002-15 -
Toxicon : Official Journal of the... Aug 2022Loxoscelism is a serious public health problem in Peru, with approximately 2500 accidents reported per year. To envision alternatives to cope with this health problem,...
Loxoscelism is a serious public health problem in Peru, with approximately 2500 accidents reported per year. To envision alternatives to cope with this health problem, the neutralizing humoral immune response against the lethal effects of Peruvian spider Loxosceles laeta venom was evaluated in a mouse model by immunization with a non-toxic multiepitopic protein (rMEPLox). This immunogen contains epitopes from an astacin-like metalloprotease, a hyaluronidase and a sphingomyelinase-D from Loxosceles intermedia and from SMase-I from L. laeta venoms. In vivo protection assays showed that five out of six mice immunized with rMEPLox (after six injections) resisted to 1.4 LD of L. laeta venom, whereas only two animals from a control group survived. The present results indicates that this multiepitopic protein can be a promising candidate for anti-loxoscelic antivenom production and experimental vaccination approaches.
Topics: Animals; Epitopes; Immunization; Mice; Peru; Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; Spider Bites; Spider Venoms; Spiders; Vaccination
PubMed: 35660625
DOI: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2022.05.044 -
Journal of Medical Cases May 2022The bite of a brown recluse spider () is usually associated with skin necrosis; however, it can lead to more significant morbidity including acute hemolytic anemia,...
The bite of a brown recluse spider () is usually associated with skin necrosis; however, it can lead to more significant morbidity including acute hemolytic anemia, rhabdomyolysis, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy and death. Here we highlight a case using plasmapheresis as treatment for acute hemolytic anemia caused by the bite of a brown recluse spider. A 49-year-old male presented to the emergency room 5 days after suffering a spider bite due to worsening symptoms. He had worsening pain at the site of the bite, diffuse body myalgias, darkening of his urine, chills, and shortness of breath. Hematology was consulted to assist in the management of hemolytic anemia refractory to multiple blood transfusions, worsening acute kidney failure requiring hemodialysis, and concern for impending death. After a literature review suggesting plasmapheresis may be beneficial in this scenario, the case was discussed with the local blood bank, and plasmapheresis was initiated. The patient underwent plasmapheresis with albumin for 2 days and the patient's hemoglobin improved and stabilized. Therapy of loxoscelism is directed at limiting the dermatonecrosis at the site of the envenomation and in cases of systemic illness supportive care is recommended. Therapeutic plasma exchange has been shown efficacious in treating snake envenomation, but there are limited data detailing its use for brown recluse spider envenomation. Here we present a case to highlight the benefit of plasmapheresis in a patient with acute hemolytic anemia secondary to a brown recluse spider bite.
PubMed: 35655627
DOI: 10.14740/jmc3828 -
Toxins May 2022Bites of brown spiders ( spp.) are responsible for dermonecrotic lesions and potentially systemic envenoming that can lead to death. The only effective therapy is the...
Bites of brown spiders ( spp.) are responsible for dermonecrotic lesions and potentially systemic envenoming that can lead to death. The only effective therapy is the use of the antivenom, usually produced in horses. However, little is known about the consequences of the systematic use of the venom and adjuvants and of the bleedings on antivenom-producing horses. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical changes in horses in their first immunization protocol for antivenom production. Eleven healthy horses, never immunized, were evaluated in three different periods: T0 (before immunization); T1 (after their first venom immunization); and T2 (after their first bleeding). Horses were clinically evaluated, sampled for blood, and underwent electrocardiographic (ECG) recordings. Several suppurated subcutaneous abscesses occurred due to the use of Freund's adjuvants and thrombophlebitis due to systematic venipunctures for the bleeding procedures. ECG showed arrhythmias in few horses in T2, such as an increase in T and R waves. In summary, the immunization protocol impacted on horses' health, especially after bleeding for antivenom procurement.
Topics: Animals; Antivenins; Horses; Immunization; Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases; Spider Venoms; Spiders
PubMed: 35622586
DOI: 10.3390/toxins14050338