Ganteaume F, Imbert C
UMR CNRS 7267, Laboratoire écologie biologie des interactions, Université de Poitiers, Faculté de médecine et de pharmacie, 6, rue de la Milétrie, BP 199, 86034, Poitiers Cedex, France.
Bull Soc Pathol Exot. 2014 Feb;107(1):31-8. doi: 10.1007/s13149-014-0331-8. Epub 2014 Jan 10.
French Guiana, by its geographical situation, its climate and its biodiversity, is often called "the green hell". Indeed, this French department of America shelters a wildlife rich, abundant among which many species of arthropods, some of which are responsible for envenomations. These accidents consist of scorpion's or hymenoptera's stings or spider's bites. The associated clinical aspect is variable, from simple pain to circulatory collapse, or lung oedema. However, symptomatology is generally mild; four deaths associated to arthropod envenomations have been reported in the past 25 years. This article focuses on envenomations in French Guiana, describing favoring human behavior, risks and venoms associated with the main related animal species.
