An invasion is underway in the Brazilian cities. That of the Scorpions. The warning comes from a group of researchers, who in an article showed how these arachnids “are taking over”: a phenomenon also determined by rapid urbanization and climatic degradation. According to the data collected, in the last decade the reports of peaks have increased dramatically.
Brazil invaded by Scorpions
Based on the data contained in the Brazilian health system on compulsory denunciation diseases, over 1.1 million stings were reported between 2014 and 2023. According to the research published in the scientific journal Frontiers in Public Health, the reports increased by 250% in the period 2014-2023. The increase, as the experts explain, was driven by rapid uncontrolled urbanization, such as that of the favelas, characterized by a high housing density and a bad disposal of waste. Urban areas are increasingly invading wild habitats, but Scorpions have learned to adapt to new environments. “Urbanization in Brazil has deeply remodeling the ecosystems – explains the researcher Manuela Berto Pucca, professor of the State University of San Paolo -. The cities involuntarily offer everything the scorpions need: large shelters, such as walls, rubble, waste and debris, a constant heat and a reliable escort of food in the form of cockroaches and other urban invertebrates”.
Scorpions particularly prefer sewers, which are hot all year round, do not host almost any predator and provide abundant food. In addition, some species are able to survive even 400 days without food and can reproduce even without coupling, characteristics that allow these anthropods to prosper easily, making them very complicated to eradicate. According to the provisional data relating to 2024, the Scorpions were responsible for about 200 thousand stings and 133 deaths in Brazil: the researchers have foreseen 2 million new cases between 2025 and 2033. “The real scope of this problem is probably much larger than the recorded statistics suggest – add the experts -, since many people decide to take care of their home or to renounce the treatments, therefore avoiding to report. The episode.
The danger danger and the subjects at risk
But how dangerous can the puncture of a scorpion be? According to researchers, only 0.1% of the points reported are fatal, with children and the elderly who are the most vulnerable subjects. A healthy person manages to heal completely within a few days, after enduring several symptoms such as pain, burning, redness and nausea. The increase in cases does not only concern Brazil, but also other South American countries, such as Paraguay, Bolivia, Mexico, Guyana and Venezuela. As suggested in the study, to put a brake on this phenomenon it is necessary to work on prevention: “Scorpions thrive in crowded and humid environments. The advice is to keep the areas clean, seal the cracks in the walls, use Retine for exhausts and always check shoes, towels and clothes before wearing them”.
As explained by another author of the study, Professor Eliane Candiani Arantes of the University of San Paolo, the Brazilian health system provides free treatments for Scorpio’s bites and the antidote is available in some hospitals and emergency room: “If someone is point, do not wait for the symptoms to get worse: you immediately go to the nearest health facility. All people are vulnerable, especially the children, because a small point is enough to kill one “. The problem must surely be stemmed, but as also underlined by the authors of this research, it is important not to frame the scorpions as our enemies: “They are not – concludes Manuela Berto Pucca -. They are animals that act defensively, not offensive. Furthermore, they are part of the natural world and perform essential ecological roles, from the control of the populations of parasites to the maintenance of biodiversity”.