Past and Current Topics on Snakebite Research

Dear Colleagues,

Snakebite envenoming has recently been recognized as a Category A neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization. This elevated status highlights the urgent need for increased research funding and improved access to antivenom, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries where vulnerable populations are most at risk.

Quantifying the burden of disease and its global impact is difficult since it is not a reportable disease in many countries. The true burden of snakebite is unknown due to under-reporting and incomplete data from scattered sources such as hospitals, government, and non-governmental organisations. The result inevitably underestimates the true snakebite burden. Global estimates suggest that there are 1–2 million snakebites per year, resulting in approximately 400,000 cases of morbidity and 100,000 deaths. The prohibitive cost of purified antivenoms and antivenom shortages pose significant health risks to affected populations. Furthermore, the management of snakebites requires expertise in a range of medical specialties, including prehospital care, emergency medicine, toxinology, critical care, surgery, injuries, and rehabilitation. The published research data on the clinical management of snakebites is generally observational, with few high-level randomised control trials presented in the scientific literature. The Editorial Team would like to invite you to publish your research in our upcoming Special Issue and hope that your contribution will add to the global knowledge on this important topic.

Dr. Darryl R. Wood
Guest Editor

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