The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that snakebites kill tens of thousands of people around the world each year, but pointed to a major shortage of antivenoms used to treat those infected.
Increased heavy rains and flooding in some parts of the world due to climate change are increasing the risk of bites, WHO snake expert David Williams said at a news conference in Geneva.
Most cases occur in Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to the World Health Organization.
There are no reliable statistics in this area, but the World Health Organization estimates that between 1.8 and 2.7 million people are bitten by venomous snakes each year, causing between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths each year, at a rate of one death every 4 to 6 minutes. These figures are undoubtedly an underestimate.
However, David Williams focused particularly on the after-effects suffered by survivors after being bitten.
He explained that “about 240,000 people suffer disabilities annually as a result of snake bites, and more than a third of them are children.”
The World Health Organization says venomous snakebites can cause paralysis that can prevent breathing, blood disorders that lead to fatal bleeding, permanent kidney failure, and tissue damage that can lead to permanent disability and amputation.
Williams pointed to the severe shortage of antivenoms in many of the world’s most affected areas, citing sub-Saharan Africa, where only 2.5% of annual needs are covered.
In 2019, the World Health Organization explained that since the 1980s, many laboratories had stopped manufacturing these treatments, causing severe shortages in Africa and some Asian countries.
climate change
India tops the list of countries most affected by snakebites, with an average of 58,000 people killed each year. There are also many incidents in neighboring Bangladesh and Pakistan, Williams said.
The UN agency said climate change threatens to alter the global map of snakebites.
“Just as climate change will affect human populations, it will also cause changes in the distribution and abundance of venomous snakes, potentially forcing some species to move into new environments where they will come into contact with people who have never encountered them before,” she said.
The organization is trying to anticipate these changes to help countries that are likely to be affected prepare for the situation.
Heavy rains and floods, which are becoming more frequent and severe under the influence of climate change, increase the risk of snakebites, Williams explained, citing the example of Nigeria, an African country “currently suffering from a serious shortage of antivenom due to the large increase in snakebites due to flooding.”
“We saw the same thing happen in the recent major floods in Pakistan,” he added, also referring to a similar situation in Burma, Bangladesh and South Sudan.
Snakes are forced to share non-watery areas with humans, leading to more friction between the two sides.
In 2019, the World Health Organization developed a strategy aimed at reducing deaths and disabilities from snakebites by 50% by 2030, calling in particular for increased production of serums.
The WHO is expected to publish statistics on this issue at the end of the year. But “unfortunately, the Covid pandemic has significantly delayed the implementation of the work… and many countries have had to reprioritize,” Williams said, calling for making up for lost time in this area.