EPIDEMIOLOGY OF SCORPION ENVENOMATION IN THE STATE OF CEARÁ, NORTHEASTERN BRAZIL

This report is a retrospective study of the epidemiology of scorpion sting cases recorded from 2007 to 2013 in the State of Ceará, Northeastern Brazil. Data were collected from the Injury Notification Information System database of the Health Department of Ceará. A total of 11,134 cases were studied and distributed across all the months of the studied period and they occurred mainly in urban areas. Victims were predominantly 20-29 years-old women. Most victims were bitten on the hand; and received medical assistance within 1-3 hours after being bitten. Cases were mostly classified as mild and progressed to cure. Scorpion envenomation in Ceará is an environmental public health problem that needs to be monitored and controlled throughout the year

Epidemiological study of cases of accidents by scorpio in the State of Ceará, 2007 to 2013

A presente investigação é um estudo retrospectivo sobre as características epidemiológicas dos acidentes por escorpião no estado do Ceará, Nordeste do Brasil, de 2007 a 2013. Os dados foram coletados na Secretaria de Saúde do Ceará, utilizando o banco de dados do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação. Foi analisado um total de 11134 casos. Os resultados do presente estudo mostram que os acidentes foram distribuídos em todos os meses dos anos investigados, sendo mais frequentes em áreas urbanas. As vítimas foram predominantemente mulheres jovens, com idade entre 20 e 29 anos, sendo que a mão foi a parte do corpo mais atingida pelas picadas. A assistência médica ocorreu, majoritariamente, entre 1 e 3 horas após o acidente. A maioria dos casos foram classificados como leve e progrediram para cura. O envenenamento por escorpião no Ceará é um problema de saúde pública ambiental que deve ser monitorado e controlado durante todo o ano. A capacitação dos profissionais de saúde mostra ser necessária e urgente para melhorar as suas habilidades de coletar e registrar as informações epidemiológicas. Estudos adicionais sobre as relações ecológicas e a estrutura comunitária dos escorpiões da região Nordeste são necessários para conhecer as espécies envolvidas nos acidentes escorpiônicos.This communication is a retrospective study of the epidemiology of scorpion sting cases recorded from 2007 to 2013 in the State of Ceará, northeastern Brazil. Data was collected from the Injury Notification Information System database of the Health Department of Ceará. A total of 11,134 cases were studied. Cases were distributed over all months of the period studied and occurred mainly in urban areas. Victims were predominantly 20–29 year-old women. Most victims were bitten on the hand and received medical assistance within 1–3 h after being bitten. Cases were mostly classified as mild and progressed to cure. Scorpion envenomation in Ceará is an environmental public health problem that needs to be monitored and controlled throughout the year. Further training for health professionals seems to be necessary to improve their skills in recording epidemiological information. Future studies on the species and community structure of those scorpions existing in the northeast region are necessary to better understand the species involved in the scorpion envenomation.CNP

The view of students from a school in Nova Floresta municipality about the Mandalla system.

O projeto Mandalla consiste em um modelo de horta baseado nos princípios da permacultura. Os canteiros desta horta são construídos ao redor do reservatório circular. Este modelo vem sendo divulgado na região do Curimataú através da Agência Mandalla, uma organização civil que pretende estimular a produção de alimentos com sustentabilidade e baixo custo. A Mandalla pode ser também um instrumento educativo uma vez que é construída nas escolas da região a partir de uma parceria com a Agência Mandalla. Os alunos têm a oportunidade de construir conhecimento a partir da construção das hortas Mandalla. O objetivo deste trabalho foi procurar compreender como as crianças de uma turma de 5º ano da Escola Municipal de Ensino Fundamental Senador Rui Carneiro no município de Nova Floresta, PB vivenciaram e o que aprenderam durante a participação da construção de hortas do Projeto Mandalla. Este trabalho de caráter qualitativo compreende um estudo de caso. Após a realização das oficinas de construção de hortas foram feitas conversas, entrevistas e desenhos com as crianças de uma turma do 5º ano, e entrevistas com outros representantes da comunidade escolar. Os resultados alcançados foram: mudança no hábito alimentar dos alunos, vivências no trabalho em grupo, maior relação com as plantas e alguns aspectos de fisiologia vegetal. O projeto Mandalla atingiu seu objetivo enquanto proposta de difusão de técnicas agroecologia, contudo, identificamos através desta pesquisa potencialidades a serem exploradas no ensino de ciências nas séries iniciais.The Mandalla’s Project consists of a model vegetable garden based on permaculture principles. The beds of this garden are built around the circular reservoir. This model of vegetable garden has been released in the region through Curimataú Mandalla Agency, a civil organization that aims to stimulate food production with sustainability and low cost. The Mandalla can also be an educational tool, since it is constructed in schools in the region in partnership with Mandalla Agency. Students have the opportunity to build knowledge by construction of gardens Mandalla. The objective of this work was to understand how children in a class of the 5th year of Municipal Elementary School Senador Rui Carneiro in Nova Floresta-PB experienced and what they learned during their participation in the construction of the vegetable gardens Mandalla. This work comprises a qualitative case study. After the workshops to build vegetable gardens were performed conversations, interviews and drawings with the children in a class of the 5th year, as well as interviews with other representatives of the school community. The results achieved: change in eating habits of students, experiences in group work, better relationships with plants and better knowledge about some aspects of plant physiology. Mandalla’s Project achieved its goal as a proposal for dissemination of agroecology techniques, however, we identified through this research potential to be explored in science education in the early grades

The epidemiology of envenomation via snakebite in the State of Piauí, Northeastern Brazil

INTRODUCTION: This communication describes a retrospective study of the epidemiology of snakebite cases that were recorded from 2007 to 2012 in the State of Piauí, northeastern Brazil. METHODS: Data were collected from the Injury Notification Information System database of the State of Piauí's Health Department. RESULTS: A total of 1,528 cases were identified. The cases occurred most frequently in rural areas between January and July. Victims were predominantly male farmers, and were typically 30-39 years old. Most victims were bitten on the foot, and received medical assistance within 1-3h after being bitten. CONCLUSIONS: The epidemiological profile of snakebites in the State of Piauí is similar to that in all of Brazil