Stings and deaths soar as scorpions invade urban Brazil to feast on cockroaches
A four-year-old girl died last week, becoming the latest scorpion victim in Brazil, where 184 people died from stings last year
Specialists in Brazil have warned of the rising danger of deadly scorpions amid a spiralling number of reported deaths and bites by the hardy arachnids which are proliferating in the country’s urban centres.
The number of deaths from scorpion bites reported to the country’s public health system has more than doubled in the past four years, from 70 in 2013 to 184 in 2017, while cases of scorpion bites rose from 37,000 in 2007 to 126,000 last year.
Meanwhile, the death last week of a four-year old girl in Sao Paulo state has reinforced concerns that many small towns lack antivenin to treat bites.
With deforestation and the increase in urban centres this scorpion is increasing its presence
Four dangerous species of scorpion are found in Brazil but the yellow scorpion, or Tityus serrulatus, has proved particularly deadly, having adapted from its traditional savannah habitat to survive in sewers, garbage and rubble in urban areas.
“With deforestation and the increase in urban centres this scorpion is increasing its presence,” said Rogério Bertani, a scientific researcher and scorpion specialist at the Butantan Institute, a São Paulo research institute attached to the state government. “Contact with human beings is very big. I believe personally this will tend to get worse.”
The yellow scorpion is parthenogenetic, which means the female can breed without being fertilised by males and it eats insects such as cockroaches.