DAMMAM, 20 May 2008 -- A Saudi expert on scorpions has said that between 24,000 and 28,000 cases of scorpion stings are reported in the Kingdom annually.
"The 20 varieties of scorpions found in the Kingdom are poisonous to various degrees. While some are fatal, others cause lesser complications, although these can be painful," said Abdul Rahman Al-Asmari, head of the Scorpion Studies Center and deputy director of research at the Armed Forces Hospital (AFH) in Riyadh.
The center, which is part of the AFH, was launched as a large number of soldiers are being stung and bit by scorpions and snakes each year. "The research center undertook detailed studies of scorpions in 2006 and developed an effective antivenom," Al-Asmari told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.
He added that during the study some types of scorpions were discovered in the Kingdom for the first time.
"We conducted tests to classify the scorpions that were found in the Kingdom. We also sought the help of latest nanotechnology to develop different varieties of antivenom," he added.
Al-Asmari said that a major difficulty in treating scorpion poison was that the anti-scorpion venom used in one region would not work against the same type of scorpion in another. So, separate antivenoms have to be developed for each variety of scorpions in different regions.
The center's study also included methods of identifying different types of scorpions during diagnosis and how the poison works in the human body. The World Health Organization recently invited Al-Asmari to Geneva to explain the center's findings on Saudi scorpions, he added.
Al-Asmari said the center intends to carry out research on other poisonous creatures, such as snakes, to manufacture antivenoms for all sorts of poison. The center is the first of its type in the Gulf region.
He added that several institutions are helping the center, including the Ministry of Health, the Armed Forces Hospital, the King Saud University and the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center.
It also shares its know-how with scorpion specialists in Egypt, Oman, India, Britain and United States, he added.
Al-Asmari warned that scorpions mostly come out during hot summer nights and that people should avoid walking barefoot outside after the sunset, especially in farmlands.
He also warned that children and the elderly are more vulnerable to scorpion poison than young men and should be quickly brought to health centers when stung.
© Arab News 2008
