The only venomous snake found in the wild in the UK is the adder – about 100 adder bites are reported each year in the UK, usually in the summer ( and a few UK residents are bitten by foreign snakes every year, either by captive snakes or while travelling abroad ).

See :- http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Bites-s...roduction.aspx


• There are, however, many venomous snakes throughout the world.

The main ones in the Philippines are :-
* Cobras
* Lance-headed pit vipers
* Coral snakes
* Sea snakes
* See :- http://usaphcapps.amedd.army.mil/HIO...er04-15-04.pdf



• Over half ( but not all ) people bitten by venomous snakes develop signs of " envenoming " – local ( pain, swelling, blistering ) and general ( vomiting, headache, bleeding, shock ). All victims should be at least observed in hospital for a day. They may need antivenom if there is swelling for over half the bitten limb and if there is a severe general reaction.


• Snake bites are one of the " neglected tropical diseases ". An estimated 5 million people around the world are bitten ; over 100,000 die ; and 400,000 are disabled / disfigured each year. Most victims are aged 10 – 30 years, from remote, rural areas, with no health facilities nearby. Even when rapid treatment is possible, it’s expensive so they either do without or turn to " traditional healers ".


• Snakebite envenoming is curable – if the right type of antivenom is available. Such antivenom is made by injecting small, non-life threatening amounts of venom into large animals ( e.g. horses ). Last year Sanofi-Pasteur stopped manufacturing the only antivenom proved to be safe and effective against all the different types of snake in sub-Saharan Africa. Stockpiles will expire next year. No replacement product – ideally cheap, safe, and effective – is likely to be available for the next two years.


• World Health Organization has no formal programme to address this issue. It needs to recognise / publicise the scale of deaths and injuries caused by snakebites, to coordinate and promote donor funding of antivenom production. The consequences of snakebites worldwide are a public health emergency which has so far been neglected – in part through lack of awareness.


http://www.thelancet.com/journals/la...lltext?rss=yes