Urgent Alarm Sounded on Global Snakebite Crisis Amid Rising Climate Threats

A landmark report “Time to Bite Back: Catalyzing a Global Response to Snakebite Envenoming” highlights a silent public health emergency responsible for more annual deaths than rabies, dengue, yellow fever, and Ebola combined, yet remains vastly underfunded, underreported, and neglected.

In fact, an estimated 5.4 million people suffer snakebites each year, with up to 2.7 million cases being venomous  bites and up to 138,000 deaths globally. Furthermore, 400,000 people suffer lifelong injuries including amputations, paralysis, or blindness.

This data shows that snakebite is one of the deadliest, yet most overlooked health emergencies on the planet.

However, if you live in a wealthy country, it’s unlikely you’ll die from a snakebite. But if you live in a remote village in India or Sub-Saharan Africa, it could very well be a death sentence.

This contrast lies at the heart of the Taskforce’s message: snakebite survival shouldn’t depend on where you live.

In countries like the U.S. or Australia, the chances of dying from a venomous snakebite are less than 0.01%, thanks to widespread access to high-quality antivenoms and rapid emergency care and community education. In contrast, across much of Africa and Asia, antivenoms are scarce, unaffordable, or dangerously inappropriate – and that’s when they’re available at all.

This coincides with a worrying global trend that snakebite incidents are increasing with climate change. As temperatures rise, snakes are expanding into new territories and becoming more active. According to WHO data, each 1°C increase in daily temperature correlates with a 6% rise in snakebite incidents.

The Time to Bite Back report urges urgent international investment in:

• Developing safe and effective treatments that are made accessible to all

• Phasing out substandard and false antivenom from the market

• Equipping healthcare systems and workers with the necessary tools and knowledge

• Supporting community prevention and education initiatives.

Despite WHO’s 2030 target to halve snakebite deaths and disabilities, the initiative remains dramatically underfunded: less than 15% of the required $136.8 million has been raised.

The Global Snakebite Taskforce – part of the Strike Out Snakebite global initiative, launched at the World Health Assembly – is calling on global health leaders, donors, and the media to shine a spotlight on a crisis that disproportionately affects children, farmers, and the poorest communities. As the cases of poisonous snakebites continues to rise, driven by climate change and global inequality, the moment to act is now.

David Lalloo, Vice-Chancellor of Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine and Founding Member of the Global Snakebite Taskforce knows that this is a solvable crisis and is available to discuss the report and what needs to be done.