704 Original article doi: 10.12980/jclm.3.2015j5-86 ©2015 by the Journal of Coastal Life Medicine. All rights reserved. An epidemiological study on scorpion envenomation in the Zagora oases (Morocco) Moulay Abdelmonaim El Hidan 1 , Oulaid Touloun 1,2 , Ali Boumezzough 1* 1 Laboratory of Ecology and Environment, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, PO Box 2390, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco. 2 Polyvalent Laboratory of Research & Development LPVRD, Department of Biology, Polydisciplinary Faculty, Sultan Moulay Slimane University, Beni Mellal, PO Box 23023, Morocco. Journal of Coastal Life Medicine 2015; 3(9): 704-707 Journal of Coastal Life Medicine *Corresponding author: Ali Boumezzough, Laboratory of Ecology and Environment, Department of Biology, PO Box 2390, Faculty of Sciences Semlalia, Cadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh 40000, Morocco. Tel: +212 662130564 Fax: +212 524434649 E-mail address: aboumezzough@gmail.com /boumezzough@uca.ma Foundation project: Supported by the Laboratory of Ecology and Environment (L2E), URAC32-CNRST and ERACNERS06-CNERS. 1. Introduction Scorpion envenomation is a real public health problem in many parts of the world, especially in North Africa, Central America, South America, the Middle East and India[1-4], with over 1.2 million cases of scorpion stings and 3 250 deaths each year worldwide[5]. Among the 1 500 species described, venoms of at least 25 species are of medical importance for humans and the majority of those species belong to Buthus, Parabuthus, Mesobuthus, Tityus, Leiurus, Androctonus and Centruroides genera of Buthidae family[5]. Scorpion stings in Morocco is the leading cause of poisonings with a rate of 30%–50% of all the poisoning cases reported to the Poison Control Center of Morocco mainly in the south and central- south provinces of the country, where the highest lethality rate was reported[6]. However the works done so far have rarely addressed the Moroccan Sahara and pre-Saharan areas, such as Zagora oases. This area is known by the presence of five species of scorpions including dangerous species like Hottentotta gentili (H. gentili), Androctonus amoreuxi (A. amoreuxi) and Androctonus liouvillei (A. liouvillei)[4]. The presence of this dangerous wildlife may suggest a high incidence of scorpion envenomation. To assess the epidemiological situation in the province of Zagora we conducted this study which aimed to investigate morbidity and mortality indicators by using a prospective study over three years (2010–2013). 2. Materials and methods 2.1. Studied area The oasis of Zagora Province belongs to the region in southeast of Morocco (Figure 1), and extends over an area of 23 000 km². These oases are involved in the maintenance of biodiversity, which are ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Objective: To determine epidemiological features of scorpion stings in the oases of Southern Morocco: Zagora Province. Methods: A three-year prospective descriptive survey was performed to obtain epidemiological data on scorpion stings, including information on epidemiological characteristics of patients stung, and gathered information on scorpion species distribution. The following information was recorded for each scorpion sting: demographics of stung patients (age, gender, geographical location), circumstances of the sting (location, time, date, activity at the time), and many traditional medical attention. A questionnaire was completed for every stung patient. Concomitantly with the epidemiological survey, a systematic sampling of scorpions based on observations and direct captures in situ was applied. Results: There were 50 cases of death among 1 053 cases studied. Most cases of death were recorded among children (under 15 years) (64%). The average age of victims was (23.00 ± 15.36) years. The scorpion sting occurred in 34.37% of cases between 18:00 and 24:00, and it coincided with the warm period and particularly between June and September (70%). The stings were principally in hands and feet (897 cases, 85.71%). The majority of victims had chosen traditional remedies (69.61%), and only 22.79% had received modern treatment while 1.33% of cases did not receive any treatment. The scorpion species involved were yellow in 179 cases and black in 815 cases. In 59 cases the scorpion involved was not identified. Conclusions: Our data constitute a preliminary descriptive study and suggest that scorpion envenomation is an important problem in the studied area. Article history: Received 16 Jun 2015 Received in revised form 6 Jul 2015 Accepted 29 Jul 2015 Available online 3 Aug 2015 Keywords: Oases Scorpions Scorpion envenomation Epidemiology Zagora Province journal homepage: www.jclmm.com