Brief resume of the Brazilian Snakes Project

(This is a very brief resume oh the Project. Original in Portuguese have 16 pages.)

The BRAZILIAN SNAKES Project composes of a Site in the Internet, a book (Field Manual), a child book and a DVD. A digital version, in diverse formats, of the existing files in the DVD for download in the Site and a photographic exposition.

In Portuguese and English, will be utilized for efficient and quick identification of vipers, snakes, spiders, centipedes, scorpions, caterpillars and as help in the initial measures for the handling of accidents with venomous animals.

It is going to form a database with technical information and elaborate photographs, following a scientific methodology, made specially for identification.

It is going to relate non venomous and venomous animals of the Brazilian fauna. Brazil today have catalogued 326 species of snakes, of these are 56 venomous.
The BRAZILIAN SNAKES Project is going to photograph approximately 56 venomous and ±100 not venomous.

Each animal will have his descriptive page with necessary information for supply subsidies in vital and immediate decision-making, as well additional facts about habitat, habits, ways of preservation and cares in the residences.

The Project is about animals of fundamental importance in the ecological system. They control the population of rodents, rats and insects and contribute a lot in the prevention of illnesses and epidemics.
The disclosure of the information of this project in a dynamic and accessible form will help to the animals preservation.
The BRAZILIAN SNAKES Project, through his efficient and modern design, by its simple way of divulge complex technical information, through consultancy with diverse professionals of the branch and of extensive research, will be a reference for consultation and of great utility for the population.
It will be dynamic with the gradual addition of new elements.

Project objectives

Animal identification.

The identification of the animal is of vital importance for the decision of the serum to be applied.

The survival or worsening of the health of the victim of venomous animals will depend very much of the initial measures adopted. The importance of a good source of information for its identification is invaluable. Preferably it should be administered in the first 2 hours.

Poisoning by a venomous snake, scorpion or spider is a medical emergency requiring immediate attention. Antivenom should be given only if its stated range of specificity includes the species responsible for the bite.

Preservation of these animals.

It offers danger? It should be eliminated? It can be removed? As and by who? A confrontation can be avoided? Can we coexist with him?

By his ecological value, the animals that do not offer danger should not be eliminated, therefore are important in researches for our survival, as well for the elaboration of antidotes and new medicines.

It is frightening imagine the enormous quantity of these animals that are being killed by fear and ignorance. With the present demographic expansion the consequences of this in few years will be, at least, catastrophic! For the two sides.

These animal are treated as they were disposable. The act - just in case, kill!.- Is absurd and should stop.

One of the main goals of the Project is to find, through his Advisors, viable solutions for a coexistence with these animal.

The solution is in education. Who knows does not fear!

Reasons and importance of this Project

The cited data below by itself justify the creation of the BRAZILIAN SNAKES Project:

Accidents with venomous animals in Brazil is the 3rd cause of injury complains in the country. MÉDIA ANUAL DE AGRAVOS - SINAN — Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação (see at statistics)

In Brazil there are about 20.000 accidents with snakes annually. Information of Instituto Butantan. (Acidentes com Animais Peçonhentos.pdf)

In 2005, health authority's registered about 100.000 accidents with venomous animals. (inform. site do Ministério da Saúde). (http://site.saude.gov.br/portal/saúde/visualizar_texto.cfm?idtxt=24903)

Recent estimates, which are fragmentary, variously suggest that worldwide, venomous snakes cause 5.4 million bites, about 2.5 million envenomings and over 125,000 deaths annually, more than 3 million bites per year resulting in more than 150,000 deaths, or several million bites and envenomings annually with tens of thousands of deaths . Since the reviews by Swaroop and Grab in 1954and Chippaux in 1998, and a global overview of bites and stings from venomous animals by White, no comprehensive global assessment has been made of snakebite epidemiology. Swaroop and Grab's review was based mainly on hospital admissions, and such data from the rural tropics are fraught with inaccuracies. For example, many snakebite victims in these areas are not hospitalized and seek traditional treatments. Hospital mortality data are well known to underestimate overall mortality due to snakebites. Chippaux and White do not give any details of the methodology used to calculate their estimates. For these reasons, re-estimating the global burden of snakebite using scientifically rigorous, replicable methodologies was necessary.
(http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050218)

Nowadays the accidents by venomous animals continue a grave problem of public health in Brazil, so much by the number of cases recorded, on average we have in a year, 20.000 cases of accidents with snakes, 5.000 with spiders and 8.000 by scorpions, as much as by the gravity presented, being able to drive to the death or heavy sequels and generate temporary or definite incapacity for the work. (MS (Ministério da Saúde) / FNS (Fundação Nacional de Saúde), 1998. Guia de Vigilância Epidemiológica. Brasília: MS/FNS.)

The disorganized growth of the urban centers provides more and more favorable conditions to the installation and proliferation of those animals next to those centers, putting in so much danger the persons as regards the animals.

When it is spoken in ecology and preservation of the fauna, is necessary take into account that the man is no more than one of the species that inhabit this planet and as such can be so much the predator like the prey.

Therefore the disclosure of these knowledge for the preservation of health and of the fauna is very important.

The animals are important, the serum is costly and the medical handling's also. The economy of financial and human resources, generated by an informed and aware population, can turn out to be very important.

However, for the population, these information needs to be of quick access and easy comprehension. Thousands of books in libraries is not of much use to who can die in just a few hours!

The absence of pictures with identification quality; the official statistics with the huge quantity of accidents with venomous animals; the absence of quick access and the easy comprehension to complex technical information; the ecological consequences of the big quantity of animals being uselessly killed; the difficulty that is the identification of these animal, that kill or incapacitate so much persons for so long, was what motivated us to start the BRAZILIAN SNAKES Project.

The photographs

The absence of really good and informative pictures about animals that kill or incapacitate so much people to the so long, is almost total.

These animal, to be identified correctly, need images of high photographic quality.

Pictures of these animals in their habitat, where they are almost camouflaged, are useless for use in identification.

Our objective will not be the artistic photograph of these animal but yes, pictures for use in identification, that will be performed following a scientific methodology of visualization.
The kind of pictures that we are going to do are not found in the existing sites in the Internet.

All of the animals will be photographed close by a standard pre-calibrated color scale for measure colorimetric values. To same lighting, the same angles and positions.
The identification will be facilitated by the absence of visual interferences.

In the page of each animal will be presented a map with the geographical location where it is found.

Where the photos will be made

• FUNDAÇÃO ZOOBOTÂNICA, RS - NOPA - Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia de Porto Alegre. Dra. Moema Leitão de Araujo.
• CIT - CENTRO DE INFORMAÇÃO TOXICOLÓGICA, Porto Alegre. Dra. Maria da Graça Boucinha Marques.
• INSTITUTO BUTANTAN, Laboratório de Herpetologia, São Paulo, Dr. Francisco Luís Franco.
• FUNED - FUNDAÇÃO EZEQUIEL DIAS, Belo Horizonte. Dra. Giselle Cotta
• FIOCRUZ - FUNDAÇÃO OSWALDO CRUZ, Rio de Janeiro. Dra. Rosany Bochner
• INSTITUTO VITAL BRAZIL, Rio de Janeiro. Divisão de Herpetologia, Dr. Claudio Machado.
• FUNDAÇÃO DE MEDICINA TROPICAL, Manaus. Gerência de Animais Peçonhentos, Dr.Jean Samonek.
• UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO AMAZONAS, Manaus. Instituto de Ciências Biológicas. Dra. Ermelinda Oliveira.
• UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DO CEARÁ, Fortaleza. Núcleo Regional de Ofiologia-UFC (NUROF). Dra. Diva Borges Nojosa.
• UNIVERSIDADE FEDERAL DE MATO GROSSO, Cuiabá. Instituto de Biociências, Dra. Christine Strüssmann.

Ecological benefits

The preservation of these animals (snakes, vipers, serpents, spiders, centipedes, scorpions, caterpillars) depends a lot on the popularization of the existent knowledge on the same ones, so much to avoid unnecessary deaths as much to avoid the management and release of these animals in wrong environments. Exist endless ecological problems caused by ignorance.

Information distribution

The environmental preservation always should be based in the knowledge. And this knowledge should be available in a quick and easy way to anyone.
The BRAZILIAN SNAKES Project by being in the Internet is going to enable this through:

• Site in the Internet with the necessary visual and technical information www.cobrasbrasileiras.com.br (Portuguese version) and www.brazilian-snakes.com (english version).
• DVD with all the existing information in the site for consultation without use of Internet.
• Book (Field Manual) that will be acquired in bookstores.
• Child book that will be acquired in bookstores.
• Digital version, for download in the Site, in Adobe Acrobat®, and that will be able to be printed.
• Digital version, for download in the Site, in the format Adobe AIR®.
  This format enables the installation of an interactive copy, in his own computer, with everybody the given pictures, drawings and existing maps in the Site.
• Photographic exposition with the main pictures of animals taken for the Project and that will be at disposal of institutions, schools, universities and museums interested.
  

Plan of Spreading and Communication

BRAZILIAN SNAKES Project will be widespread of diverse ways:

1. Because it is a Site of public utility and also ecological, we foresees an intense traffic of international and national users.
   We believe that many lives, of human and animals, will be saved by the Project.
   It will be a positive image for the Sponsor.
2. In the internet will be registered in the main search engines.
3. It will be made an intense SEO (Search Engine Optimization) work in all the Site. This is going to enable his positioning in the top of the researches, in all of the sites of search in the Internet (Google, Yahoo etc.).
4. It will be divulged by email for all of the medicals and hospitals directors accredited of the country that we already enter in contact.
5. In the Universities that our consultants work. It will be widespread through sites of immense propagation as Facebook, Orcut etc.
6. It will be widespread in the press through the service of a Press Advisor.
7. Through the itinerant Photographic Exposition.

Who will benefit with this Project

1. Hospitals, health centers, medical and personnel related.
2. Veterinary, farmers and all the personnel's that works in the field.
3. Fire Departments.
4. Polices and related.
5. Persons that live or enter in contact with the nature.
6. Campers, mountaineering etc.
7. Students and interested. Infants in all the elementary schools with access to Internet.
8. World through his version in English.

Plan of reciprocity for the Sponsors:

1. We offer to the Sponsor Pictures, of high resolution and of high quality without extra costs and of exclusive use, of his products near those animals for use in publicity, handbills, poster etc..
2. In the Site divulged in the internet, will be included the name and the logo of the Sponsor company (with link for his corporate page) and in all the pages with highlight.
3. The initial circulation of the Book (Manual of Field) will be of 3000 exemplary; 2000 for the Sponsors and 1000 will be distributed by the team of the BRAZILIAN SNAKES Project for Universities, libraries and related organs.
4. The Sponsor will receive the copy of the books where will be inserted the name with printed logo of the Sponsor company.
5. On the DVD the Sponsor logo will be used.They will be known institutional supporters of the Project.
6. We will carry out an itinerant Photographic Exposition about the Project that be at disposal of the institutions, supporters and Sponsors in diverse communities of Brazil.
   The Exposition will be able to to be carried out in schools, universities, museums, entities, and localities of interest of the Sponsor.
7. The Sponsors will have his companies mentioned and the its printed logos as reference of sponsorship, in all the forms of disclosure and media of the Project, that included the edition of the Book, the DVD, the Photographic Exposition and all the graphic stuff of support.

The BRAZILIAN SNAKES Project is also an open project to the social interests of the Sponsors.

It will be able to to be created a space, so much in the book, DVD and in the Photographic Exposition, for that are mentioned the most significant cultural activities chancel by the Sponsors Companies.

 

snakes@cobrasbrasileiras.com.br

 

"All photograph in this page are the exclusive property of Instituto Butantan and World Health Organization - WHO (D. A. Warrell), Project and text are property of photographer/illustrator Fernando Bergamaschi and are protected under International Copyright Laws."