Most cases occur in Africa, Asia and Latin America, according to the WHO.
Reliable statistics are lacking, but the WHO estimates that between 1.8 and 2.7 million people are bitten by venomous snakes each year. According to the organization, between 81,000 and 138,000 people are killed each year, or one death every 4 to 6 minutes — figures that are probably underestimated.
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But Dr Williams places particular emphasis on the after-effects suffered by survivors.
“About 240,000 people a year are disabled as a result of snake bites. More than a third of them are children,” he explained.
Venomous snakebites can cause paralysis that can block breathing, blood disorders leading to fatal hemorrhages, irreversible kidney failure and tissue damage that can lead to permanent disability and limb amputation, according to the WHO.
But antivenom is in critical short supply in many of the worst-affected regions of the world, Dr Williams said, citing sub-Saharan Africa, where annual needs are only 2.5 per cent met.
In 2019, the WHO explained that since the 1980s, many laboratories have abandoned the manufacture of these treatments, causing a serious shortage in Africa and certain Asian countries.
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Climate change
India is the country worst affected by snakebites, with an average of 58,000 deaths each year. Neighbouring countries Bangladesh and Pakistan are also heavily affected, the doctor said.
Climate change threatens to alter the global snakebite map, the UN organization explains.
“Just as climate change will affect human populations, it will also lead to changes in the distribution and abundance of venomous snakes, which could force some species into new environments where they will come into contact with people who have never encountered them before,” she says.
It tries to anticipate these changes to help potentially affected countries prepare.
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More frequent or severe flooding due to climate change increases the risk of bites, Dr Williams said, citing Nigeria, an African country that is “currently experiencing a severe shortage of antivenom due to the influx of snakebite cases from flooding.”
“We saw the same thing happen in the last major floods in Pakistan,” he added, also citing Burma, Bangladesh and South Sudan.
Snakes and humans are forced to share non-flooded areas, leading to increased interactions.
In 2019, the WHO developed a strategy to reduce mortality and disability caused by snakebites by 50% by 2030, including calling for an increase in serum production.
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The WHO is due to publish statistics on this subject 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 redefine” their priorities, stressed Dr Williams, calling for making up for lost time.
