© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Scorpions Infest Brazilian Cities

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

Life in Sao Paulo, Brazil, may feel a little like a science fiction film right now. Scorpions roam the realm. They're finger-sized, armed with two pincers and, of course, a poisonous stinger. And apparently, they're everywhere.

Hamilton Carvalho is a researcher with University of Sao Paulo and joins us. Mr. Carvalho, thanks so much for being with us.

HAMILTON CARVALHO: My pleasure, Scott.

SIMON: How bad are the scorpions there?

CARVALHO: The yellow scorpion that we have here is one of the deadliest in the world. To give your audience a sense of the severity of these cases, the homicide rate in America is about 5 per 100,000 people. The scorpions accidents in Brazil, last year the rate was 75 per 100,000 people.

SIMON: Well, how are they popping up in everyday life? I mean, can you see one now as we speak?

CARVALHO: No, no (laughter). They are creatures that remain dormant during the day. They move, essentially, during the night. So people usually find them inside their houses at night where they hope to sting their prey. When they sting children, in particular, the child has a window of time around 30 minutes to one hour to get the anti-venom to prevent death.

SIMON: And I gather their natural predators aren't there in the city, are they?

CARVALHO: No. But the thing is, in urban settings they have plenty of food, especially cockroaches. They have shelter. They have access to water in the sewage system. So they have been growing exponentially because you have this perfect equation for their growth.

SIMON: What can be done, professor?

CARVALHO: If you use an ultraviolet flashlight, you can spot them easily at night because their skin reflects that kind of light. So you have to have a structure to catch them. You must have a public health system prepared for this epidemic situation, which is not the case yet.

SIMON: Yeah. Mr. Carvalho, years ago I did a story that involved spending time, including the night, with uh, with youngsters who lived on the street there in Sao Paulo. There are a lot of people, kids especially, who have to bed down in the street at night. They must be particularly vulnerable to being attacked by scorpions.

CARVALHO: Yeah. We have the - fortunately, this problem has been ameliorated over the years. We have fewer children living in the streets, but we have - we still have a high level of poverty and inequality. So this problem is compounded by the fact that basic sanitation is not widespread in the city or, by the way, in the entire country. So the more garbage you have, the more open sewage you have, the more you're inviting the scorpions to occupy these areas and to proliferate.

SIMON: Hamilton Carvalho, the University of Sao Paulo. Thanks so much for being with us. And good luck, sir.

CARVALHO: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF BRIAN ENO, LEO ABRAHAMS ET. AL.'S "SMALL CRAFT ON A MILK SEA") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.