Care2Causes/Kelly Wang: Snakebites: A Hidden Health Crisis Around the World

Care2Causes
Snakebites: A Hidden Health Crisis Around the World
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    By: Kelly Wang
    May 25, 2019

Snakebites are the cause of the world’s biggest hidden health crisis, according to U.K. biomedical research charity Wellcome Trust.

The World Health Organization estimates between 81,000 and 138,000 people are killed annually by snakebites, and roughly another 400,000 are left with life-altering disabilities, such as amputation.

“The burden of death and disability is greater than any other neglected tropical disease and equal to that of prostate or cervical cancer,” according to Wellcome Trust.

Those most at risk of snakebites tend to live in rural areas of Asia, Africa and South America. And because the treatment for snakebites can be ineffective, expensive and inaccessible, many who are bitten don’t receive medical help — meaning the total number of snakebites internationally may be far higher than we are aware of.

Antivenom only exists for around 60 percent of the venomous snakes in the world, according to The Guardian. But each venomous snake species produces a unique cocktail of toxins that requires a specific antivenom. Antivenom is typically created by injecting large animals, such as horses, with small amounts of snake venom and then extracting antibodies they produce. This is an inefficient process that has remained largely unchanged for decades.

“Those you need in India may be quite different from Africa,” Julien Potet, a neglected tropical disease adviser, told The Guardian. “Snakes are different and venoms are different. Some species are not very well covered. That is a big problem the manufacturers have to address.”

It is fair to say, then, that it is definitely time for a change.

Wellcome Trust recently announced an investment of $100 million for snakebite research — the first substantial investment into this research in over a decade. In addition, the U.K. Department for International Development released around $11 million to fund the development of a universal snakebite antivenom. And WHO has created a snakebite strategy, aiming to halve the number of disabilities and deaths from snakebites by 2030.

“Snakebite is — or should be — a treatable condition,” Mike Turner, Wellcome director of science, said in a news release. “With access to the right antivenom there is a high chance of survival. While people will always be bitten by venomous snakes, there is no reason so many should die.”

David Lalloo, director of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, called Wellcome’s investment “transformational.”

“It will make an enormous difference,” Lalloo told Science magazine. “It builds the economic argument for manufacturers to invest in antivenom.”

From carpet vipers to cobras, venomous snakes have struck fear in people who know the consequences of their bites will be painful at best and fatal at worst. Even nonvenomous snakes are feared by association — and sometimes rightfully so. Just ask Jerel Haywood of Oklahoma, who was recently bitten by a bullsnake on his friend’s porch.

In the United States, venomous snakes bite between 7,000 and 8,000 people every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Only about five people die from those bites, though without immediate medical assistance that number would be far higher. That’s the fate suffered by many people around the world.

With the Wellcome Trust and Department for International Development’s investments — and WHO’s new snakebite strategy — it seems the tide is turning on this hidden health crisis. And while being bitten by a venomous snake is not totally avoidable, these new measures should lead us to a future where a snakebite is no longer a death sentence.

Photo Credit: Fulvio Spada/Flickr
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20 comments
Elizabeth H16 minutes ago

C2 is so slow I almost gave up, don't have the time to wait so long.
So glad England doesn't have poisonous snakes and spiders.
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Heather Brophy23 minutes ago

How about the Burmese pythons in Florida, poor Florida.
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Loredana V29 minutes ago

@Renata: same trouble here, I thought it was only me
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Loredana V30 minutes ago

I didn't know, thanks for sharing.
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Renata Babout an hour ago

Two SPAM comments in a total of 14 comments. Care2 has been very slow for a few days and today it is extremely slow. I suppose SPAM attack again. Flagged the harmful messages.
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Renata Babout an hour ago

Knowing how the present UK Government is reacting to any threat (or supposed threat) coming from animals, true or false, supported or more often disproved by scientists, I am surprised they do not ask to pay for an international cull of all snakes. And of course, horses have to suffer.
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Dr. Jan Hillabout an hour ago

thanks
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Ann B1 hours ago

thanks for info not in UK
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Cokomu Joshua2 hours ago

Stay at home mom Kelly Richards from New York after resigning from her full time job managed to average from $6000-$8000 a month from freelancing at home... This is how she done it


......... Net440.com
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Cokomu Joshua2 hours ago

Stay at home mom Kelly Richards from New York after resigning from her full time job managed to average from $6000-$8000 a month from freelancing at home... This is how she done it


......... Net440.com
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