Allen Swati, Chakma Joy Kumar
Scientist C, 2Scientist F, Indian Council of Medical Research Department of Health Research, Faculty of Medical Research, AcSIR (Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, an Institute of National Importance Established By an Act of Parliament), V. Ramalingaswami Bhawan, Ansari Nagar East, New Delhi, 110029, India.
Trop Med Health. 2025 May 22;53(1):74. doi: 10.1186/s41182-025-00754-0.
Snakebite envenoming represents a significant public health challenge, particularly in regions where venomous snakes are prevalent. Globally, it has been estimated that every year 81,000-1,38,000 people die due to venomous snakebites along with enormous morbidity and physical disability to the survivors. Almost 70% of estimated global snakebite deaths are from South Asia Region. However, more than half of the global burden due to snakebite is alone from India with an estimated annual average of about 58,000 deaths. Thus, this is a significant public health problem for a developing country like India compared to the other Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Considering the problem of snakebites in developing and tropical countries, which contributes almost 95% of the total snakebites of the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) has re-designated snakebite as a priority Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) in 2017. However, there is a little more than a 5-year window left for reducing mortality and morbidity due to snakebite envenoming by 50%, in aligning with the WHO 2030 target. Thus, for achieving this target within the span of half a decade, for this decades-old problem, there is an urgent need to recognize the fundamental challenges for addressing the unmet needs and recognizing the opportunities.
蛇咬伤中毒是一项重大的公共卫生挑战，尤其是在毒蛇盛行的地区。据估计，全球每年有81000 - 138000人死于毒蛇咬伤，幸存者还会出现大量发病情况和身体残疾。据估计，全球蛇咬伤致死人数中近70%来自南亚地区。然而，全球蛇咬伤造成的负担一半以上仅来自印度，估计每年平均约有58000人死亡。因此，与其他低收入和中等收入国家相比，这对印度这样的发展中国家来说是一个重大的公共卫生问题。考虑到发展中国家和热带国家的蛇咬伤问题，这些国家的蛇咬伤病例几乎占全球总数的95%，世界卫生组织（WHO）在2017年将蛇咬伤重新指定为优先被忽视热带病（NTD）。然而，距离按照世界卫生组织2030年的目标将蛇咬伤中毒导致的死亡率和发病率降低50%，只剩下短短5年多一点的时间窗口。因此，为了在短短五年内实现这一目标，针对这个存在了数十年的问题，迫切需要认识到应对未满足需求的根本挑战并抓住机遇。
