# Snakebites a public health problem in Africa



## News Bot (Sep 10, 2011)

One and a half million people per year are poisoned by snake venom in Sub-Saharan Africa. An IRD researcher recently analysed around 100 surveys and medical reports published over the past 40 years. No large-scale study of the situation had hitherto been conducted and public health authorities had underestimated the size of the problem. This means that currently only 10% of victims are treated, owing to a shortage of antivenoms* and lack of awareness among health care practitioners. Yet the clinical complications can be very serious, even fatal. A bite from a cobra or mamba can bring on death by asphyxia --- due to respiratory paralysis --- within 6 hours of the incident. Venom injected by the ocellated carpet viper, common in the African savannah, can cause hemorrhages leading to the victim's death in a few days. This new study provides authorities with more detailed and reliable figures which should enable them to readjust their health-care services in better tune with needs.

*Published On:* 10-Sep-11 02:16 AM
*Source:* ScienceDaily

*Go to Original Article*


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## mmafan555 (Sep 13, 2011)

As bad as snakebites are in Africa...the people are much more in danger from disease carrying insects than snakes.


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## Defective (Sep 13, 2011)

mmafan555 said:


> As bad as snakebites are in Africa...the people are much more in danger from disease carrying insects than snakes.



or themselves! with militant groups training child soldiers, an african person has more chance of being killed by a gun than a snake bite from a cobra or mamba!

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/world/africa/02somalia.html

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2542029/pdf/bullwho00555-0044.pdf


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## Ambush (Sep 13, 2011)

No wonder snake charmers use a cobra. Get a brown you wimps.


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## mmafan555 (Sep 13, 2011)

Defective said:


> or themselves! with militant groups training child soldiers, an african person has more chance of being killed by a gun than a snake bite from a cobra or mamba!
> 
> http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/02/world/africa/02somalia.html
> 
> http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2542029/pdf/bullwho00555-0044.pdf



Yeah thats just beyond messed up...But don't let that give you a bad impression of the people as a whole...I think the nicest/most friendly people I have met were in Tanzania and Kenya..Really nice and friendly people


As for the snakes...The situation is actullay definitely worse in parts of Asia...Certain Asian countries have huge snake bite problems and numbers of deaths...In africa the disease carrying insects are the biggest menace by far.


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## mmafan555 (Sep 13, 2011)

Ambush said:


> No wonder snake charmers use a cobra. Get a brown you wimps.



In Asia the cobras that the charmers use are almost always de-fanged( hence why it was banned in India and Sri Lanka as it is cruel to the snake) its almost never a normal cobra...

I have never seen any snake charming when in Africa and am not sure if it exists in most of the continent...It does exist in the extreme northern parts of Africa through...The practice exists in the Sahara etc


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## longqi (Sep 13, 2011)

Yes Asia does have a few dangerous vens including a krait with a 50% fatality rate, which is far and away the worst snake on Earth to get hit by
But the numbers have never really been counted here except for an older report from Sri Lanka
From Anecdotal evidence I dont think the reported bites from vens would reach anywhere near 1.5 million

I feel many people would consider disease carrying humans to be the biggest problem Africa will face for this and the next generation
Most insect borne diseases can be fought and defeated with modern medicine but AIDs is running rampant throughout most of Central and Southern Africa and the annual death toll is increasing every year


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## mmafan555 (Sep 13, 2011)

longqi said:


> Yes Asia does have a few dangerous vens including a krait with a 50% fatality rate, which is far and away the worst snake on Earth to get hit by
> But the numbers have never really been counted here except for an older report from Sri Lanka
> From Anecdotal evidence I dont think the reported bites from vens would reach anywhere near 1.5 million
> 
> ...



Can and Are...are 2 totally different things...Malaria is treatable yet it kills over 1 million people each years...Thousands more die from other mosquito illnesses like Dengue, Yellow Fever, various forms of Encephalitis...and thousands more are disabled by Elephantiasis( an absolutely horrible disease)

And thats just mosquitoes...Then you have Sleeping sickness spread by Tsetse Flies..River blindness from Black Flies....Leishmaniasis from Sandflies and a bunch of other stuff from Ticks...

Aids is a very serious threat...but I think it gets enough attention( if not more than enough attention) as it is...The quote on quote Hollywood agenda ensures that it gets as much attention as it needs...where as Hollywood could care less about the less "glamorous" disease that I listed above...The fact that Aids is prevalent in western countries also ensures it recieves attention. If it wasn't established in the western countries I doubt it would get as much attention as it does now..It would get a lot less attention if it wasn't in the western world.




Snake bite is a huge problem in some Asian countries..(India has 20,000 deaths a year alone) but yeah 1.5 million bites seems exaggerated.


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## pazuzu666 (Apr 19, 2012)

mmafan555 said:


> Can and Are...are 2 totally different things...Malaria is treatable yet it kills over 1 million people each years...Thousands more die from other mosquito illnesses like Dengue, Yellow Fever, various forms of Encephalitis...and thousands more are disabled by Elephantiasis( an absolutely horrible disease)
> 
> And thats just mosquitoes...Then you have Sleeping sickness spread by Tsetse Flies..River blindness from Black Flies....Leishmaniasis from Sandflies and a bunch of other stuff from Ticks...
> 
> ...


I don't think it's that exagerated. Africa has an estimated 1 billion people and the largest diversity of snakes in the world. 30 species have been known to cause fatalities and even more can cause medical conditions. This study is on how many people get envenomated not killed per year. Ofcourse it's impossible to get a truly accurate number. Many bites don't get reported in rural areas(the same can be said for Asia). Snakes like the puff adder, snouted cobra, carpet vipers are quite common and readily bite if they feel threatened. Others like the black mamba, cape cobra can be very aggressive and lethal in their smaller regions.


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## Skeptic (Apr 19, 2012)

mmafan555 said:


> As bad as snakebites are in Africa...the people are much more in danger from disease carrying insects than snakes.



Half of ALL the people to have ever lived on this planet have been killed by mosquitoes.


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## disintegratus (Apr 19, 2012)

Skeptic said:


> Half of ALL the people to have ever lived on this planet have been killed by mosquitoes.



That actually makes me like mosquitoes a little bit... But I'm a bit of a sociopath. It's okay, I'm the friendly kind


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## pazuzu666 (Apr 20, 2012)

longqi said:


> Yes Asia does have a few dangerous vens including a krait with a 50% fatality rate, which is far and away the worst snake on Earth to get hit by
> But the numbers have never really been counted here except for an older report from Sri Lanka
> From Anecdotal evidence I dont think the reported bites from vens would reach anywhere near 1.5 million
> 
> ...


 Hi. In regards to your comment on Kraits, from the studies I've seen, black mambas and coastal taipans have a higher untreated mortality rate and typically cause more rapid death. The "50% with treatment" is unverified as far as I know and is likely an old study. They definately are one of the worst however.


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## Endeavour (Apr 20, 2012)

*If its of interest to anyone*

I have a really good document published by the WHO about all aspects of snake bites, if anyone wants a copy PM me your email and I will send it to you (i will Email the first 10 people who contact me)


Kindest regards


Endeavour


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