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18th September 2015 #1
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Snake bites
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, its 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
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