Steps Urged to Prevent Snakebites, Improve Treatments

About 5.5 million people a year are bitten. The W.H.O. now recognizes snakebite as a neglected tropical disease. Transcript of radio broadcast:

24 January 2010

This is the VOA Special English Development Report.

A Western Diamondback rattlesnake in Cave Creek, ArizonaSnakes bite an estimated five and a half million people worldwide each year. Experts say tens of thousands of people die from venom poisoning.

An untreated or incorrectly treated bite might require the removal of a bitten foot, for example, or an arm. Each year around four hundred thousand amputations are the result of snakebites.

Last year, for the first time, the World Health Organization added snakebites to its list of "neglected tropical diseases." This recognition aims to bring greater attention to the problem.

Scientists know of about three thousand kinds of snakes. About six hundred of them are venomous. These are most often found in rural areas in tropical climates.

Asia and Africa have the highest number of snakebites -- together about four million a year. Latin America and islands in the South Pacific follow.

The highest number of victims are agricultural workers. Snakebites are also common among fishermen, hunters and children. Many victims live in areas with poor or non-existent health care systems and where antivenom treatments are often not available.