Citation

Diniz AG, Belmino JF, Araújo KA, Vieira AT, Leite Rde S. Rev. Inst. Med. Trop. Sao Paulo 2016; 58: 40.

Affiliation

Centro de Educação e Saúde, Universidade Federal de Campina Grande, Paraíba, Brasil.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Instituto de Medicina Tropical de Sao Paulo)

DOI

10.1590/S1678-9946201658040

PMID

27253742

Abstract

In the American continent, honeybee envenomation is a public health problem due to the high incidence and severity of the cases. Despite its medical importance, there is a lack of epidemiological studies on this topic in Brazil, especially referring to the Northeastern states. The present study has aimed to describe the epidemiological features of honeybee envenomation cases in the state of the Ceará, Northeastern Brazil, from 2007 to 2013. Data were collected from the Injury Notification Information System database of the Health Department of Ceará. A total of 1,307 cases were analyzed. Cases were shown to be distributed in all the months of the studied years, reaching higher frequencies in August. The majority of cases occurred in urban areas and involved men aged between 20 and 29 years. Victims were mainly stung on the head and torso, and they received medical assistance predominantly within 3 hours after being stung. Local manifestations were more frequent than systemic ones. Most cases were classified as mild and progressed to cure. The high number of honeybee sting cases shows that Ceará may be an important risk area for such injuries. Moreover, the current study provides data for the development of strategies to promote control and prevention of bee stings in this area.

Language: en