Fact Sheet | 19 July, 2018 | Download PDF

ABOUT SNAKEBITE ENVENOMING

  • Conservative global estimates show that snakebite envenoming kills 81,000–138,000 people every year and permanently disables 400,000 more.
  • In sub-Saharan Africa, alone, snakebite is estimated to cause about 32,000 deaths and 6,000 amputations a year.
  • The economic burden from snakebite envenoming in sub-Saharan Africa is under-researched and largely unknown; however, a socio-economic analysis of snakebite in Sri Lanka found that, annually, snakebite costs the government over $10 million—and victims $4 million, despite free healthcare in the country.
  • Women and children comprise between 30–45% of snakebite cases, and workers in
    impoverished, rural areas are most at risk.
  • The World Health Organization (WHO) and its Members States have started prioritising snakebite envenoming. The WHO added snakebite to its high-priority (‘Category A’) list of neglected tropical diseases in 2017; the 71st World Health Assembly adopted a Resolution on Snakebite Envenoming in 2018…

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