Bangalore: A new global study has found that snakebites caused more than 63,000 deaths worldwide in 2019, and of this, India accounted for over 51,000 deaths, accounting for more than 80 percent of the total. Pakistan ranks second with 2,070 deaths. The scale of numbers makes “snake venom” the deadliest neglected tropical disease (NTD).
The study is currently the most up to date, with the last survey being dated back in 2008. Written by Global Burden of Disease (GBD), a global research collaborative network, it analyzed data from 204 countries from 1990 to 2019. the conclusions were published last week in the magazine nature communication,
All numbers recorded in the study show a significant reduction in mortality, particularly since 2008, compared with a 36 percent drop in global age-standardized mortality since 1990. However, the numbers are still far less than the world. The Health Organization (WHO) aims to halve snakebite deaths by 2030.
According to the report, South Asia is the region with the highest mortality rate with 54,600 deaths, accounting for 86 percent of the global death toll, due to its ecology, socioeconomic vulnerability and low health care capacity.
The death toll in sub-Saharan Africa stands at 7,331 and the US together has recorded 370 deaths.
On India’s situation, Soumyadeep Bhowmik, a researcher at The George Institute for Global Health, New Delhi and co-author of the paper, said: “Community-based intervention strategies (that go beyond raising awareness) and strengthening health systems are under high burden. Deaths can be halved in an integrated fashion with adequate resources available to states. Since there is not much research on snakebites, these actions should be research-incorporated – so that we can find out whether works and what doesn’t.
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snakebite data
Historically, there have been only a few studies on the global disease burden of “snakebite envenoming”, particularly because of the paucity of data. a 1998 report good noted that more than 100,000 deaths were attributed to snakebites, while in 2008, line circle 94,000 was estimated.
In the latest report, the modeled estimates use data from existing sources such as official surveys, hospitals, oral autopsies, civil registries, and others. However, not all data is captured and not all is accurate, especially in places with high snakebite levels such as India, Sri Lanka and the Terai region of Nepal.
Indian mortality and poisoning rates are very high due to lack of access to antivenom. In the country, antivenom for the Big Four snakes (Russell’s viper, common krait, Indian saw-scaled viper and Indian cobra) is readily available, but is not efficiently distributed in rural areas.
“Snake bites are a public health problem in rural and adivasi (tribal) areas of the country,” explained Bhowmik.
“We know that hospital-based data for snakebites is not sufficient because most people with snakebites go to traditional healers. There is a need for community-based surveys in districts where we have reported high numbers of snakebites. This is because snakebite, at the end of the day, is a localized (problem) with more burden in certain areas,” he said.
In addition, snakebite venom is also a major problem among cattle, and the burden for both animals and humans needs to be understood, he said.
reduce poison
Snakebite venom was considered a neglected tropical disease until 2013, when it was removed from the list. However, in 2017 it was again added to the list, becoming the deadliest NTD.
In 2019WHO announces strategy to significantly reduce snakebite venom, which “affects 1.8–2.7 million people every year, claims 81,000–138,000 lives and causes 400,000 cases of permanent disability”. .
Program goals deeply affected communities and their health care systems, and aims to reduce poisoning in four phases: empowering and engaging people, ensuring safe and effective treatment, strengthening health systems, and increasing participation and resources.
However, the reduction in snakebite numbers, as seen in the latest report, is not enough to achieve the WHO’s 2030 target, the paper noted.
While the Government of India has already started acting Bhowmik said strategies focusing on community-based interventions, by training medical officers, are essential for better snakebite treatment. “We need a comprehensive national strategy to deal with snakebites, not isolated activities,” he said.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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