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Snake envenoming: a neglected 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 in specific regions. 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

Journal Article
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Research

Snakebites in Cameroon by species whose effects are poorly described

Chippaux JP, Madec Y, Amta P, Ntone R, Noël G,  et al.
2024-12-06 • Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
2024-12-06 • Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease

Snakes responsible for bites are rarely identified, resulting in a loss of information about snakebites from venomous species whose venom effects are poorly understood. A prospective ...

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
|
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
|
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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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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Advancing Research to Improve NTD Treatments in Children by Saschveen Singh

Dr. Saschveen Singh is a tropical infectious disease advisor for MSF. Read more of MSF's recent work on neglected tropical diseases in pediatric populations, and of Dr. Singh's work at MSF.

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World Malaria Day 2022
No description available
Poster gallery (MSF Scientific Days International 2022)

Poster gallery (MSF Scientific Days International 2022)
No description available
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Snake envenoming: a neglected crisis

Snake envenoming: a neglected crisis