Abstract

GOMEZ C, Juan Pablo  and  OTERO P, Rafael. Eco-epidemiology of scorpions of medical importance in Colombia. Rev. Fac. Nac. Salud Pública [online]. 2007, vol.25, n.1, pp.50-60. ISSN 0120-386X.

Scorpionism has become a public health problem in some tropical and subtropical countries from Latin America such as Mexico (200,000-250,000 cases/year) and Brazil (8,000-21,000 cases/year). There is no epidemiologic surveillance in Colombia to accurately define the real extent of scorpion stings. Buthidae is the family of major importance world-wide, which is represented in Colombia by four genera, being Centruroides (1 spp) and Tityus (29 spp) the most protruding. In recent clinical and epidemiological studies performed in two regions of the country (Antioquia and Tolima), it was demonstrated that T. pachyurus, T. asthenes, T. fuehrmanni and C. gracilis are the species that may induce moderate/severe envenoming and severe risk of death. Colombian scorpions exhibit high endemism in places in which they have lived undisturbed, in equilibrium for millions of years. When a high ecological disturbance caused by civilization by means of continuous anthropic changes occurs in the environment, some scorpion species which live sympatrically with other species in equlibrium take advantage of this disclimax. When all those new conditions get mixed with a high toxicity venoms, high ecological plasticity, high reproductive capacity, and extended and erratic distribution, these species which can be called opportunistic species become potentially dangerous for the human being. In this article some biological, epidemiological and ecological aspects of Colombian scorpions, and their incidence in human populations are discussed

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