Epidemiology of Scorpionism in Darmian, Iran, 2015

Background and Scorpionism is a life-threatening hazard in many parts of the world including Iran. Identifying the epidemiology of effective factors causing this health problem could play a major role in its prevention. Therefore, this study was conducted to understand the epidemiology of scorpionism in Darmian, Iran.
A retrospective cross-sectional study was designed in which all the people stung by scorpion between March 2015-2016 were investigated. The subjects were residing in Darmian, Southern Khorasan province, Iran. Epidemiology of patients and demographic data were collected in a checklist and data was analyzed in SPSS V.20.
A total of 132 cases stung by scorpion were recorded including 58 males (43.9%) and 74 females (56.1%). The highest and lowest rates were found in people aged 35-44 (22%) and≥65 (6.8 %), respectively. Among the cases 3.8% were younger than 15 years of age. Hands, legs, and head and face were the most prevalent sting sites (47.7%, 39.4% and 12.9%, respectively). Most cases of scorpion stings occurred during spring and summer while July was the month with highest rate (22%). Of total cases 29.5% were residing in urban areas and 70.5% were in rural areas.
The highest rate of scorpionism cases were reported in rural areas, therefore, training programs should be considered for preventing scorpionism in rural communities. Also, development and optimization of residential houses and rural roads can greatly reduce the incidence of scorpion stings.