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Scorpion deaths on rise in Brazil as arachnid adapts to urban life
Deaths have more than doubled as specialists warn of increasing danger for city-dwellers
Dom Phillips in Rio de Janeiro
@domphillips
Sun 15 Jul 2018 04.00 EDT
Specialists in Brazil have warned of the rising danger of deadly scorpions amid a spiraling number of reported deaths and stings by the hardy arachnids which are proliferating in the country’s urban centres.
The number of deaths from scorpion stings 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 stings rose from 37,000 in 2007 to 126,000 last year.
Meanwhile, the death last week of a four-year old girl in São Paulo state has reinforced concerns that many small towns lack anti-venom to treat stings.
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.
More:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/15/scorpion-deaths-rise-brazil-cities-urban-adaptation-risks