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Snakebite envenoming: a neglected health crisis | Collections | MSF Science Portal

Every year 2 million or more people fall victim to snakebite envenoming, mostly in poor, rural communities of Africa, Asia and Latin America. Between 83,000—138,000 of them die, while hundreds of thousands more suffer debilitating long-term complications or disabilities.


Although some antivenom medicines are highly effective when used promptly and appropriately, many snakebite victims get no treatment at all. Those who do may receive antivenoms which don’t work against the type of snake that bit them, or were not rigorously tested for safety and effectiveness.


To mark World Snakebite Awareness Day on September 19th, the Collection linked below brings together recent MSF work on this highly neglected disease. Several articles and conference presentations help fill evidence gaps on the burden of disease and its impacts or on treatment outcomes with specific antivenoms. Others examine how to tackle the formidable challenges of availability and affordability, the absence of regulatory oversight for making, testing and registering antivenoms, and the anemic R&D pipeline for new products—all of which impede access for patients to safe, effective treatment tailored to local snake species.

Collection Content

Conference Material
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Poster

Characteristics of children affected by snake bite and snake envenomation in Abs Hospital, Yemen

de Bartolome Gisbert F, Awad Alhatec MH, Hajaji A, Hindi A, Salem S,  et al.
2024-05-03 • MSF Paediatric Days 2024
2024-05-03 • MSF Paediatric Days 2024
Journal Article
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Research

Real life condition evaluation of Inoserp PAN-AFRICA antivenom effectiveness in Cameroon

Chippaux JP, Ntone R, Benhammou D, Madec Y, Noël G,  et al.
2023-11-08 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
2023-11-08 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
BACKGROUND
Snakebites is a serious public health issue but remains a neglected tropical disease. Data on antivenom effectiveness are urgently needed in Africa. We assessed effectiven...
Journal Article
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Commentary

Availability, accessibility and use of antivenom for snakebite envenomation in Africa with proposed strategies to overcome the limitations

Dalhat MM, Potet J, Mohammed A, Chotun N, Tesfahunei HA,  et al.
2023-02-26 • Toxicon: X
2023-02-26 • Toxicon: X
Africa remains one of the regions with the highest incident and burden of snakebite. The goal of the World Health Organization to halve the global burden of snakebite by 2030 can only be...
Journal Article
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Research

A global core outcome measurement set for snakebite clinical trials

Abouyannis M, Esmail H, Hamaluba M, Ngama M, Mwangudzah H,  et al.
2023-02-01 • Lancet Global Health
2023-02-01 • Lancet Global Health
Snakebite clinical trials have often used heterogeneous outcome measures and there is an urgent need for standardisation. A globally representative group of key stakeholders came togethe...
Journal Article
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Commentary

Snakebite envenoming at MSF: A decade of clinical challenges and antivenom access issues

Potet J, Singh SN, Ritmeijer KKD, Sisay K, Alcoba G,  et al.
2022-12-21 • Toxicon: X
2022-12-21 • Toxicon: X
The medical humanitarian organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) provides medical care in more than 70 countries and admits more than 7000 cases of snakebite in its facilities each y...
Journal Article
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Commentary

Understanding and tackling snakebite envenoming with transdisciplinary research

Gutiérrez JM, Borri J, Giles-Vernick T, Duda R, Habib AG,  et al.
2022-11-17 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
2022-11-17 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
Journal Article
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Review

Snakebite envenoming in humanitarian crises and migration: A scoping review and the Médecins Sans Frontières experience

Alcoba G, Potet J, Vatrinet R, Singh SN, Nanclares C,  et al.
2022-03-01 • Toxicon: X
2022-03-01 • Toxicon: X
Snakebite envenoming is a public health concern in many countries affected by humanitarian crises. Its magnitude was recognized internationally but associations between snakebite peaks a...
Journal Article
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Research

Treatment outcomes among snakebite patients in north-west Ethiopia—a retrospective analysis

Steegemans IM, Sisay K, Nshimiyimana E, Gebrewold G, Piening T,  et al.
2022-02-09 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
2022-02-09 • PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases
BACKGROUND
Millions of people are bitten by venomous snakes annually, causing high mortality and disability, but the true burden of this neglected health issue remains unknown. Since...
Journal Article
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Review

Access to antivenoms in the developing world: a multidisciplinary analysis

Potet J, Beran D, Ray N, Alcoba G, Habib AG,  et al.
2021-10-26 • Toxicon: X
2021-10-26 • Toxicon: X
Access to safe, effective, quality-assured antivenom products that are tailored to endemic venomous snake species is a crucial component of recent coordinated efforts to reduce the globa...
Journal Article
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Commentary

Snakebites and COVID-19: two crises, one research and development opportunity

Martins D, Ribeiro I, Potet J
2021-10-25 • BMJ Global Health
2021-10-25 • BMJ Global Health
SUMMARY POINTS

• Despite inherent differences, Snakebite Envenoming and COVID-19 have much in common in terms of research and development (R&D) challenges and opportunities.

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Climate change and health
Climate change and health
The climate crisis is also a health and humanitarian crisis, disproportionately impacting people in the world’s most climate-sensitive regions—mainly low- and low-middle income countries with the least capacity to respond. MSF and other humanitarian organizations witness the consequences daily. More frequent, intense weather events and a warming planet contribute to food and water scarcity, more severe and widespread disease outbreaks, and more injuries and preventable deaths. They also drive massive population displacement, with over 32 million people fleeing their homes in 2022 alone due to floods, drought, storms and fire—nearly triple the number displaced by violence and conflict. As global leaders convene in Dubai for the UN climate conference (COP28, 30 Nov-12 Dec 2023) we present this cross-section of work by MSF and collaborators, drawing from first-hand experience at our medical projects. Emphasizing the urgency of adapting humanitarian operations to the climate crisis, the collection also explores loss and damage through a health lens, proposes policies and practices for creating climate-resilient health organizations, and advocates for embedding fair, just ethics perspectives into humanitarian action and research on climate.
World Hepatitis Day 2022
World Hepatitis Day 2022
Each year hundreds of millions of people suffer from chronic or acute liver disease caused by hepatitis viruses, and over one million die. To mark World Hepatitis Day (July 28th) we bring you a selection of MSF research exploring how to better prevent, identify and treat hepatitis infection in lower-income countries and emergency contexts where the burden is heaviest. For example, in a South Sudanese camp for displaced people—a type of setting where poor sanitation and water quality regularly lead to hepatitis E outbreaks—MSF and the Ministry of Health (MoH) are conducting the world’s first reactive vaccination campaign against this disease, and evaluating the process and outcomes. In Cambodia, MSF and MoH collaborators found that a simplified community-based model of care for hepatitis C was safe and highly effective in diagnosing patients and in curing them with new antiviral drugs. It was also cost-effective, according to studies in several countries and patient populations. And these new drugs were safe and effective even in patients also being treated for drug-resistant tuberculosis.
World NTD Day
World NTD Day

Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) impact nearly 1.7 billion people each year, causing serious illness or lifelong disability among many—often leading to stigma and exclusion—and killing an estimated 200,000. The vast majority of sufferers live in the world’s poorest countries.


The World Health Organization’s NTD roadmap 2021-2030 aims to address 20 tropical diseases through prevention, control, elimination, and/or eradication. But despite some progress, reaching all its targets will take better, far more accessible diagnostics and treatments along with more robust strategies, political commitment and resources.


To mark World NTD Day, this collection spotlights work by MSF and collaborators on improving approaches to snakebite envenoming, kala azar and noma. One study presents an innovative artificial intelligence-based snakebite diagnostic tool, while others evaluate shorter, less toxic drug regimens or different models of care. Several commentaries advocate for national/regional strategies adapted to contexts ranging from remote villages to active conflict zones. Another crucial factor is the climate crisis, which is intensifying the transmission and geographic spread of many NTDs.

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Snakebite envenoming: a neglected health crisis

Snakebite envenoming: a neglected health crisis