Snakebites are rare medical emergency cases in Europe but may sometimes be severe and lead to complications. A better knowledge of snakebite epidemiology may help health authorities to better understand therapeutic requirements, especially concerning antivenoms, and thus improve treatment of snakebite. An extensive literature search for studies and articles published between 1970 and 2010 was p...

BACKGROUND Snakebite is a significant cause of death and disability in subsistent farming populations of sub-Saharan Africa. Antivenom is the most effective treatment of envenoming and is manufactured from IgG of venom-immunised horses/sheep but, because of complex fiscal reasons, there is a paucity of antivenom in sub-Saharan Africa. To address the plight of thousands of snakebite victims in s...

BACKGROUND Snakebite envenoming (SBE) is a major problem in rural areas of West Africa (WA). Compared to other Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD), the public health burden of SBE has not been well characterized. We estimated the impact of snakebite mortality and morbidity using the Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) metrics for 16 countries in WA. METHODS We used the reported annual number...

BACKGROUND The worldwide neglect of immunotherapeutic products for the treatment of snakebite has resulted in a critical paucity of effective, safe and affordable therapy in many Third World countries, particularly in Africa. Snakebite ranks high among the most neglected global health problems, with thousands of untreated victims dying or becoming permanently maimed in developing countries each...

BACKGROUND Currently, there is inadequate evidence on which to base clinical management of neurotoxic snakebite envenoming, especially in the choice of initial antivenom dosage. This randomised controlled trial compared the effectiveness and safety of high versus low initial antivenom dosage in victims of neurotoxic envenoming. METHODOLOGY/ PRINCIPAL FINDINGS This was a balanced, randomised, ...

BACKGROUND Hump-nosed viper bite is the commonest cause of venomous snakebite in Sri Lanka. Despite initially being considered a moderately venomous snake more recent reports have revealed that it could cause significant systemic envenoming leading to coagulopathy and acute kidney injury. However, myocardial infarction was not reported except for a single case, which occurred immediately after ...

background: information on the epidemiology of venomous snake species responsible for envenomation to humans in iran has not been well documented. in the kashan city, venomous snakebite remains a recurring medical problem. information providing the correct identification of snake species responsible for envenomation in this geographic region would be useful to regional medicalclinics and person...