Núcleo de Altos Estudos Amazônicos, Universidade Federal do Pará (NAEA/UFPA), Av Perimetral 1, Guamá, Belém, PA, Brazil.
Grupo de Felinos, Instituto de Desenvolvimento Sustentável Mamirauá, Estrada do Bexiga, Fonte Boa, Tefé, AM, 2584, Brazil.
J Ethnobiol Ethnomed. 2024 Aug 23;20(1):79. doi: 10.1186/s13002-024-00715-7.
Snakebites are considered a neglected tropical disease responsible for many accidents, some fatal, and are related to poverty. The Brazilian Amazon has the highest incidence of snakebites per inhabitant, with the state of Pará having the most reported cases. For those who have difficult access to hospitals and pharmacies, this issue is even more urgent.
In this research, we worked together with the population of five riverine communities in Aritapera (Santarém-PA), a fluvial island located in the Lower Amazon floodplain (várzeas), in order to identify the species of venomous snakes and create a record of snakebites in the region and treatments carried out.
Dwellers reported a high frequency of encounters throughout the year and mentioned five venomous ethnospecies, although we identified only Bothrops atrox. Approximately 28.7% of the participants had already been bitten, and in 15.8% of the interviews, they mentioned deaths from snakebites. The treatments varied between hospitalization (42.8%), home treatments (23.8%), both together (25.4%) and healers (7.9%). There were cases where no treatment, or just religious treatment, was performed. In general, no serious sequelae were reported. Although home treatments were more common in the past, many people maintained the practice of using them before going to the hospital. Among the most used are Pau X and the fat of the Amazon River Dolphin. The latter appears to be a recent discovery by locals and is considered very efficient both for humans and animals.
Difficult access to health centers, a lack of energy to store antivenom and a high rate of encounters with snake place Aritapera dwellers in a vulnerable situation regarding snakebite accidents. In this context, they discovered treatments that improved their well-being until hospitalization. As the Amazon River dolphin is an endangered species, the use of its fat requires attention. In this sense, the dissemination of this knowledge is important to encourage studies that investigate which properties of this fat act as counterpoisons. By discovering substitutes that can be incorporated in other rural and remote communities, an economic and ecologically viable option for the health of residents can be promoted, in addition to valuing traditional knowledge.
蛇咬伤被认为是一种被忽视的热带病，可导致许多事故，其中一些是致命的，与贫困有关。巴西亚马逊地区的蛇咬伤发生率位居世界首位，而帕拉州的报告病例最多。对于那些难以获得医院和药店服务的人来说，这个问题更加紧迫。
在这项研究中，我们与 Aritapera（帕拉州圣塔伦）的五个河滨社区的居民合作，该社区位于亚马孙河下游洪泛区（瓦尔泽亚斯）的一个河心岛上，以确定该地区有毒蛇的种类，并记录蛇咬伤事件和所采取的治疗措施。
居民们报告说，他们全年都会频繁遇到蛇，提到了五种有毒的民族物种，尽管我们只鉴定出了矛头蝮。大约 28.7%的参与者曾被蛇咬伤，在 15.8%的访谈中，他们提到了因蛇咬伤而死亡的病例。治疗方法包括住院治疗（42.8%）、家庭治疗（23.8%）、两者结合（25.4%）和治疗师治疗（7.9%）。也有一些病例未进行治疗，或只进行了宗教治疗。总的来说，没有报告严重的后遗症。尽管家庭治疗在过去更为常见，但许多人在去医院之前仍然坚持使用这种治疗方法。使用最多的是 Pau X 和亚马逊河豚的脂肪。后者似乎是当地人最近才发现的，对人和动物都非常有效。
由于难以获得医疗中心的服务、缺乏储存抗蛇毒血清的能量以及与蛇频繁接触，Aritapera 的居民在蛇咬伤事故中处于脆弱的境地。在这种情况下，他们发现了一些治疗方法，可以改善他们的健康状况，直到住院治疗。由于亚马逊河豚是一种濒危物种，因此需要注意使用其脂肪。在这方面，传播这种知识很重要，可以鼓励研究这种脂肪的哪些特性可以作为解毒剂。通过发现可以被纳入其他农村和偏远社区的替代品，可以为居民的健康提供一种经济和生态上可行的选择，同时也可以重视传统知识。
