THE SPATIAL HETEROGENEITY OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING VENOMOUS ANIMALS IN BRAZIL: A HISTORICAL SERIES FROM 2014 TO 2023

Abstract

Accidents caused by venomous animals constitute an important public health problem in Brazil, with an unequal distribution across territories and the agents involved. This article evaluated the spatial distribution of the incidence of accidents caused by venomous animals in Brazil between 2014 and 2023. This is a retrospective ecological study using annual data from the Information System for Notifiable Diseases (SINAN), accessed via DATASUS, converted into incidence rates per 100,000 inhabitants based on population estimates from the IBGE. To investigate spatial variability, the non-parametric Scheirer-Ray-Hare test and Dunn's post-hoc test were applied using R software, version 4.4.0. During the analyzed period, 1,832,823 accidents were registered. The annual incidence varied significantly across animal types and Brazilian regions (p < 0.001), with a significant interaction between agent and macro-region (p < 0.001). The highest incidence of accidents caused by spiders occurred in the South (x̄ = 27.7 ± 6.7), while accidents caused by scorpions predominated in the Northeast (x̄ = 48.4 ± 10.1) and Southeast (x̄ = 36.8 ± 9.8). Snakebite accidents were concentrated in the North region (x̄ = 22.7 ± 2.0). It is concluded that Brazil presents a regional epidemiological mosaic, requiring territorialized strategies for surveillance, prevention, and control.