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. 2016 Nov 24;8(12):351.
doi: 10.3390/toxins8120351.

Priority Actions and Progress to Substantially and Sustainably Reduce the Mortality, Morbidity and Socioeconomic Burden of Tropical Snakebite

Robert A Harrison  1 , José María Gutiérrez  2
Affiliations

Priority Actions and Progress to Substantially and Sustainably Reduce the Mortality, Morbidity and Socioeconomic Burden of Tropical Snakebite

Robert A Harrison et al. Toxins (Basel). .

Abstract

The deliberations and conclusions of a Hinxton Retreat convened in September 2015, entitled "Mechanisms to reverse the public health neglect of snakebite victims" are reported. The participants recommended that the following priority actions be included in strategies to reduce the global impact of snake envenoming: (a) collection of accurate global snakebite incidence, mortality and morbidity data to underpin advocacy efforts and help design public health campaigns; (b) promotion of (i) public education prevention campaigns; (ii) transport systems to improve access to hospitals and (iii) establishment of regional antivenom-efficacy testing facilities to ensure antivenoms' effectiveness and safety;

Keywords: antivenoms; envenoming; global snakebite initiative; neglected tropical disease; prevention; snakebite.

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Conflict of interest statement

J.M.G. is a member of the Board of Directors of the Global Snakebite Initiative (GSI) and R.A.H. is a member of GSI’s advisory board.

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