Snakebite mortality in Costa Rica

The mortality rate due to snakebite envenomation in Costa Rica was estimated from 1952 to 1993. The highest mortality was observed during the 1950s and 1960s, with the highest rate of 4.83 per 100,000 population in 1953. In contrast, a rate of 0.2 per 100,000 population per year was estimated from 1...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Toxicon (Oxford) 1997-11, Vol.35 (11), p.1639-1643
Main Authors: Rojas, Gustavo, Bogarín, Guisella, Gutiérrez, JoséMaría
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age Factors
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Animal poisons toxicology. Antivenoms
Animals
Biological and medical sciences
Bothrops
Child
Child, Preschool
Costa Rica - epidemiology
Female
Humans
Incidence
Infant
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Snake Bites - epidemiology
Snake Bites - mortality
Toxicology
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Description
Summary:The mortality rate due to snakebite envenomation in Costa Rica was estimated from 1952 to 1993. The highest mortality was observed during the 1950s and 1960s, with the highest rate of 4.83 per 100,000 population in 1953. In contrast, a rate of 0.2 per 100,000 population per year was estimated from 1990 to 1993. The most conspicuous decline in mortality occurred after 1970. The highest mortality rates were observed in the provinces of Limon and Puntarenas, especially in regions where tropical rain forests had been transformed into agricultural fields. The lowest mortality was in the province of Guanacaste, where tropical dry forest predominates and Bothrops asper (terciopelo), the most important poisonous snake in the country, is not abundant. The majority of fatalities occurred in the age groups from 10 to 19 years old. Males were more affected than females in a ratio of 3.6: 1. Before 1980 most fatal cases did not receive medical attention in hospitals, whereas after 1980 the majority of cases with fatal outcome were attended in hospitals.
ISSN:0041-0101
1879-3150
DOI:10.1016/S0041-0101(97)00046-9