Study of The Frequency and Incidence of Scorpion Envenomation in Aghajri County, Khuzestan Province, Southwestern Iran

Scorpion sting is a medical problem and a life-threatening hazard in many parts of the globe including Iran. Data on scorpion envenomation is available for many parts of Iran, but not for Aghajri County. Scorpions are widely distributed in Iran. Sixty-four species have been identified in Iran, with at least 18 of these recorded in Khuzestan Province. The present study aims to assess the risk of scorpionism and to clarify the epidemiological characteristics of scorpionism in this county. This study was based on 553 cases of scorpion stings submitted to the medical and health centers of Aghajri County (30 degrees 42'02"N 49 degrees 49'53"E), Iran, over a period of 4 years. Epidemiological information of victims in Aghajri was obtained from a standard data sheet and analyzed by SPSS 16 software. Values obtained were considered to be significantly different if p