02250nas a2200229   4500000000100000008004100001653003900042653001400081653002200095653002300117653003000140653004300170100001500213700001500228700001600243700001300259245013500272856003300407300000800440520155800448022001402006       2019                            d10aNeglected tropical diseases (NTDs)10asnakebite10aSnakebite victims10aTropical snakebite10aWorld Health Organization10aWHO Snakebite Envenoming Working Group1 aHarrison R1 aCasewell N1 aAinsworth S1 aLalloo D00aThe time is now: a call for action to translate recent momentum on tackling tropical snakebite into sustained benefit for victims.  uhttps://tinyurl.com/yd2rcquj  a1-43 a<p>Like the other WHO-listed Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs), snakebite primarily affects rural, impoverished tropical communities that lack adequate health resources. The annual 138 000 deaths and 400 000 disabilities suffered by these subsistence farming communities means that snakebite is an additional cause and consequence of tropical poverty. Unlike most of the NTDs, however, snakebite is a medical emergency, and requires rapid treatment in a hospital equipped with effective antivenom, beds and appropriately trained staff. The lack of such facilities in the remote areas most affected by snakebite, and the high treatment costs, explains why most victims, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, consult traditional healers rather than seek hospital care. Whilst affordable, there is no evidence that traditional treatments are effective. The number of snakebite victims that die, unregistered, in the community is threefold higher than hospital-recorded deaths.After decades of inertia, WHO benefitted from advocacy interventions and the support of key agencies, including Médecins Sans Frontières, the Wellcome Trust, the Kofi Annan Foundation and the Global Snakebite Initiative, to recently institute transformative actions for reducing the public health burden of tropical snakebite. It is imperative that WHO and the other stakeholders now gain the support and investment of governments, research funders and donor agencies to ensure that this recent momentum for change is translated into sustained benefit to snakebite victims.</p>
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