Epidemiological trends of venomous animal envenomations in Brazil, 2015– 2024

Abstract

Objective: to analyze the epidemiological trends of venomous animal injuries in Brazil between 2015 and 2024. Methods: ecological time-series study using data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System retrieved through TABNET/DATASUS; incidence and mortality rates per 100,000 population were calculated by region, sex, age group, causative species, and time to care, using population projections from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and
Statistics as denominators; trends were assessed by simple linear regression. Results: a total of 2,645,862 cases were recorded, mostly in the Southeast (39.0%) and Northeast (34.5%); incidence rose from 84.40 to 158.11/100,000 (β = 8.07; p < 0.001), with no significant trend in the South; males showed a median relative risk of 1.30; there were 3,392 deaths, with mortality rising from 0.1302 to 0.2030/100,000; scorpions accounted for about 59% of cases with identified species. Conclusion: injuries increased over the period, requiring stronger surveillance and expanded access to antivenom.