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Snakebites in the Brazilian Amazon: Current Knowledge and Perspectives

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Clinical Toxinology in Australia, Europe, and Americas

Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI))

Abstract

Although important efforts were carried out during the past decades in Brazil to understand and control snakebite envenomings, important gaps remain for the fulfillment of these goals, particularly in the Amazon region. Bothrops atrox is the most important venomous snake in the Brazilian Amazon, causing 80–90% of the snake envenomings in the region. In the Brazilian Amazon, Bothrops envenoming shows pain, swelling, regional lymphadenopathy, ecchymosis, blistering, and necrosis as the most common local clinical manifestations. Secondary bacterial infections were observed in around 40% of the Bothrops snakebites. Spontaneous systemic bleeding and acute renal failure are common systemic complications after Bothrops envenomings. It is difficult for riverine and indigenous populations to reach health centers for treatment of snakebites. As a result, the number of cases detected officially is probably underestimated. Current antivenoms (AVs) require conservation in adequate facilities, which are not always available in remote settings. In addition, training of multidisciplinary teams is not always appropriate for indigenous health services regarding AV administration, side effect management, and case monitoring and surveillance. Although clinical research related to venomous animal injuries has increased, most publications are based on case reports and lack methodological rigor. Moreover, outcome definitions, such as severity ranking criteria, were empirically established, making the results even less generalizable. Clinical research from hospital-based studies and community observational studies are needed. In addition to all the above recommendations, the importance of international cooperative efforts toward the control of these neglected health problems through international partnerships, namely, with other Amazonian countries, is highlighted.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Diretoria de Ensino e Pesquisa, Fundação de Medicina Tropical Dr. Heitor Vieira Dourado, Pedro Teixeira (Av.), 25, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Sâmella Silva de Oliveira, Vanderson de Souza Sampaio, Jacqueline de Almeida Gonçalves Sachett, Eliane Campos Alves, Vanessa Costa da Silva, Iran Mendonça da Silva, Luiz Carlos de Lima Ferreira, Marcus Vinicius Guimarães de Lacerda & Wuelton Marcelo Monteiro

  2. Escola Superior de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Estado do Amazonas, Pedro Teixeira (Av.), 25, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Sâmella Silva de Oliveira, Vanderson de Souza Sampaio, Jacqueline de Almeida Gonçalves Sachett, Eliane Campos Alves, Vanessa Costa da Silva, João Arthur Alcântara de Lima, Iran Mendonça da Silva, Luiz Carlos de Lima Ferreira, Marcus Vinicius Guimarães de Lacerda & Wuelton Marcelo Monteiro

  3. Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de São Paulo, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, SP, Brazil

    Hui Wen Fan

  4. Instituto de Pesquisa Leônidas & Maria Deane, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Manaus, AM, Brazil

    Marcus Vinicius Guimarães de Lacerda

  5. Universidade Federal do Acre, Rio Branco, AC, Brazil

    Paulo Bernarde

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  1. Sâmella Silva de Oliveira
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  2. Vanderson de Souza Sampaio
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  3. Jacqueline de Almeida Gonçalves Sachett
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  4. Eliane Campos Alves
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  5. Vanessa Costa da Silva
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  6. João Arthur Alcântara de Lima
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  7. Iran Mendonça da Silva
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  8. Luiz Carlos de Lima Ferreira
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  9. Paulo Bernarde
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  10. Hui Wen Fan
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  11. Marcus Vinicius Guimarães de Lacerda
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  12. Wuelton Marcelo Monteiro
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Correspondence to Sâmella Silva de Oliveira .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Hawaii Cancer Center, and Department of Pathology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    Carl-Wilhelm Vogel

  2. Department of Emergency Medicine New Mexico School of Medicine, New Mexico Poison Center, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA

    Steven A. Seifert

  3. Laboratory of Immunochemistry, Division of Development and Innovation Butantan Institute, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

    Denise V. Tambourgi

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de Oliveira, S.S. et al. (2018). Snakebites in the Brazilian Amazon: Current Knowledge and Perspectives. In: Vogel, CW., Seifert, S., Tambourgi, D. (eds) Clinical Toxinology in Australia, Europe, and Americas. Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-7438-3_61

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