The distribution of scorpion stings by year. 

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... January 2002 to December 2007, 8,340 cases of scorpion sting are recorded in Beni Mellal province ( Figure 1). From 2002 to 2007 the maximum number of scorpion sting cases (1,924 cases), registered in 2006, coincided with the awareness campaign; the respective yearly incidences were: 0.85‰, 1.22‰, 1.11‰, 1.8‰, 1.85‰ and 1.31‰ with an average of 1.36‰. Table 1 shows the characteristics of stung patients in the three health clinics: the polyclinics Fkih Ben Saleh, the polyclinics Tadla and the provincial hospital of Beni Mellal. These results showed that the average age of stung patients was 26.54 ± 18.42 years and that children ≤ 15 years accounted for 21.33% in Fkih Ben Saleh, 25.74% in Tadla and 38.11% in Beni Mellal. In the three health structures, the sex ratio favored females, because women are often in the outdoors, especially the farmland. The scorpion stings occurred most often during the summer months, peaking in July and August (Figure 2), with 59.8% between 6 pm and 6 am. As to the post-sting time (the time between the sting and a first consultation), the results showed that 67.3% of patients were able to receive medical attention in less than one hour. According to our analyses, 87.6% of stung victims came to a health center in Class I without a sign of seriousness; the patients in this class were only stung not envenomed. It should be noted that the Classes II (presence of one or more general signs) and III (cardiovascular, respiratory or neurological distresses) comprise 12.4% of cases, which is not negligible compared to other regions in ...