A new initiative gets underway to discuss the possibility of developing innovative solutions that can address the problems associated with snakebite envenoming.
The interdisciplinary event, to be held in Leiden, The Netherlands on 21 and 22 June 2018, aims to raise attention for this devastating, neglected tropical disease and ignite solutions and international action on snakebite prevention and treatment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently added snakebite envenoming to its portfolio of neglected tropical diseases and is working with international experts to develop a strategy to reduce and control the burden of injury and death caused by snakebite envenoming.
WHO’s strategy aims to prioritize key actions and interventions with appropriate resourcing that can substantially improve the outcomes for patients and their communities. The strategy is expected later this year.
Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease that causes the deaths of 81,000-138,000 people worldwide each year, Snakebites affect as many as 5.5 million people annually, mostly in poor communities of low- to middle-income countries in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. More than half of snakebite victims are likely to need specific medical treatment, including the administration of antivenoms, corrective surgeries, prostheses and rehabilitation.
It is estimated that as many as 400,000 people a year are left permanently disabled after snake bites, with many psychologically scarred, unable to work, support themselves or their families, and often with crippling debt and social stigmatization.
The June 2018 meeting in Leiden, The Netherlands is titled Snakebite – from Science to Society, and is being organised by Naturalis Biodiversity Center. Rather than being a formal scientific meeting, it is being designed as a forum where innovative ideas and scientific solutions can be discussed and developed among a broad group of stakeholders from the sciences, humanities, government agencies, civil society and humanitarian aid organizations.