Bioecology and scorpion envenomation in Ramshir district, Khuzestan Province, southwestern Iran

Scorpion envenomation is a leading public health hazard in southwestern Iran. This study was carried out to analyze the bioecology and medical importance of scorpions in Ramshir district in Khuzestan Province of Iran from 2006 to 2011. Epidemiological data of victims in Ramshir was obtained from a standard data sheet and analyzed by SPSS 16 software. Scorpions were collected using standard rock-rolling and UV light methods, as well as the rubber band technique in 2013. Morphological identification was performed using Iranian scorpion's identification key. During a 6-year period (2006-2012), 1502 envenomed cases-with high prevalence of stinging from June to October in each year-were obtained. More than half of the accidents were in the age group 15-34 years, and the most frequently stung body parts were legs and hands, respectively. There were 283 scorpion specimens collected, which belonged to three families: Buthidae, Scorpionidae, and Hemiscorpiidae. There were five species: Mesobuthus phillipsii (Pocock), Androctonus crassicauda (Olivier), Hemiscorpius lepturus (Peters), Orthochirus iranus (Kovarik), and Scorpio maurus (Linnaeus). All species were classified as epigean (92.2 %) and fossorial (7.8 %) guilds. In conclusion, the high prevalence of scorpion envenomation and distribution of dangerous scorpion species in Ramshir suggest the necessity for educational and preventive programs to decrease scorpionism incidence in terms of scorpion control, patient treatment, and prevention measures.