LACK OF ANTIVENOMS IS THE CAUSE OF OVER 63,000 DEATHS CAUSED BY SNAKE BITES EACH YEAR

  • 05/11/2022

According to a study done in Australia, more than 63,000 people lose their lives to snake bites every year because the necessary doses of an antidote are not available.

According to a study by Richard Franklin of the James Cook University School of General Medicine in Australia, only two Australians were killed by snakebites in 2019 compared to 51,000 in India.

"We have found that the majority of deaths from snake bites are located in South Asia, in the region that extends from Afghanistan to Sri Lanka, including Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh, while the African Sahara region is ranked second in terms of the high death rate," he continued in statements to the medical research website "Medica Express."

He pointed out that Nigeria is at the forefront of African countries in terms of death rates from snake bites. 

He explains that "victims of snake bites in South Asia and the African sub-Saharan region usually go to local healers or medical centers with limited capabilities, and therefore do not receive the doses of antidotes needed to save their lives."  

He pointed out that "providing the necessary doses of antidotes, especially in rural areas of the world, could save the lives of thousands of people, and greater investments must be made in this field and priority should be given to addressing this problem."  

Related News