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Strategies for management of snakebites in Africa

Edited by Benedito Barraviera

© Moorish viper, by Bernard DupontWe are pleased to publish in Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases a collection focused on snakebites in Africa. The precise burden of this neglected public health problem is still to be determined due to the lack of reliable epidemiological data. Further research is still required if case fatality rates are to be reduced. Unfortunately, numerous snakebite cases go unreported, health workers often have little or no formal training in snakebite management, and appropriate antivenom is rarely available.

The articles presented in this collection are a result of the discussions held in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in 2-5 June 2015, during the 6th International Conference on Envenomation by Snakebites and Scorpion Stings in Africa, organized by the African Society of Venomology and the Pasteur Institute of Côte d’Ivoire. Central issues include improvement of epidemiological information in Africa, training of health workers in the management of envenomation, establishment of policies to stimulate the use of effective antivenom, and the expansion of antivenom accessibility by lowering its costs.

We hope that these articles will draw attention to an affliction that besets mostly poor, rural populations in some of the least developed countries on the globe. We thank our associate editor Jean-Philippe Chippaux who made this collection possible.

This collection has not been sponsored and articles have undergone the journal’s standard peer-review process. The Editor declares no competing interests.

  1. In Africa, snakebite envenomations are frequently complicated by life-threatening hemorrhagic syndromes. The authors of the present study conducted a prospective analysis at the University Hospital of Parakou ...

    Authors: Blaise Adelin Tchaou, Kofi-Mensa Savi de Tové, Yolande Sissinto-Savi de Tové, Aurélien Tchémaha C. Djomga, Abdou-Rahman Aguemon, Achille Massougbodji and Jean-Philippe Chippaux
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2016 22:13
  2. During the 6th International Conference on Envenomation by Snakebites and Scorpion Stings in Africa held in Abidjan, from 1 to 5 June 2015, the measures for the management of envenomation were discussed and new r...

    Authors: Jean-Philippe Chippaux, Marc Hermann Akaffou, Bernard Kouadio Allali, Mireille Dosso, Achille Massougbodji and Benedito Barraviera
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2016 22:11
  3. Snakebite is a common neglected public health issue, especially in poor rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. Passive immunotherapy with safe and effective antivenom is the only approved t...

    Authors: Sandrine Gampini, Sonia Nassouri, Jean-Philippe Chippaux and Rasmané Semde
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2016 22:10
  4. Although considered a public health issue in Senegal, the actual incidence and mortality from snakebite are not known. In the present study, an epidemiological survey was carried out in Kédougou region, southe...

    Authors: Absa Lam, Bouna Camara, Oumar Kane, Amadou Diouf and Jean-Philippe Chippaux
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2016 22:9
  5. Snakebites cause considerable death and injury throughout the globe, particularly in tropical regions, and pose an important yet neglected threat to public health. In 2008, the Centre Anti Poison et de Parmaco...

    Authors: Fouad Chafiq, Faiçal El Hattimy, Naima Rhalem, Jean-Philippe Chippaux, Abdelmajid Soulaymani, Abdelrhani Mokhtari and Rachida Soulaymani-Bencheikh
    Citation: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases 2016 22:8