Estimating and predicting snakebite risk in the Terai region of Nepal through a high-resolution geospatial and One Health approach

Ochoa, Carlos; Pittavino, Marta; Martins, Sara Babo; Alcoba, Gabriel; Bolon, Isabelle; Castañeda, Rafael Ruiz de; Joost, Stéphane; Sharma, Sanjib Kumar; Chappuis, François; Ray, Nicolas

doi:10.1038/s41598-021-03301-z

Cited by 10 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…This research study has important implications for snakebite management in Iran. As shown in other studies 13 , 27 – 30 , 45 , 46 and confirmed in this research HSMs developed based on distribution of medically important venomous snakes can guide public policies for the distribution of antivenom medication and identification of regions with higher snakebite risk to guide mitigation and training measures for vulnerable populations as well as health teams. It should be noted that population density, educational level, income, etc.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Identifying high snakebite risk area under climate change for community education and antivenom distribution

Yousefi

Yousefkhani

Grünig

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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Snakebite is one of the largest risks from wildlife, however little is known about venomous snake distribution, spatial variation in snakebite risk, potential changes in snakebite risk pattern due to climate change, and vulnerable human population. As a consequence, management and prevention of snakebite is hampered by this lack of information. Here we used habitat suitability modeling for 10 medically important venomous snakes to identify high snakebite risk area under climate change in Iran. We identified areas with high snakebite risk in Iran and showed that snakebite risk will increase in some parts of the country. Our results also revealed that mountainous areas (Zagros, Alborz, Kopet–Dagh mountains) will experience highest changes in species composition. We underline that in order to improve snakebite management, areas which were identified with high snakebite risk in Iran need to be prioritized for the distribution of antivenom medication and awareness rising programs among vulnerable human population.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

Identifying high snakebite risk area under climate change for community education and antivenom distribution

Yousefi

Yousefkhani

Grünig

et al. 2023

Sci Rep

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“…Ensuring that actors from endemic nations are leading snakebite initiatives might enhance legitimacy and enable inclusion of a wider base of proponents. The use of One Health as a framework for understanding and addressing snakebite might also be considered: it has successfully attracted large multicountry collaborative funding 62 63. The joint action plan of WHO, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, World Organisation for Animal Health & United Nations Environment Program identifies snakebite as an area of work in 2022–2026 64.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How and why snakebite became a global health priority: a policy analysis

Bhaumik,

Zwi,

Norton

et al. 2023

BMJ Glob Health

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BackgroundSnakebite was added to the WHO neglected tropical disease (NTD) list in 2017, followed by a World Health Assembly resolution in 2018, and an explicit global target being set to reduce the burden in 2019. We aimed to understand how and why snakebite became a global health priority.MethodsWe conducted a policy case study, using in-depth interviews, and documents (peer-reviewed and grey literature) as data sources. We drew on Shiffmanet al’s framework on global health network to guide the analysis.ResultsWe conducted 20 interviews and examined 91 documents. The prioritisation of snakebite occurred in four phases: pre-crescendo, crescendo, de-crescendo and re-crescendo. The core snakebite network consisted of academics, which expanded during the re-crescendo phase to include civil society organisations and state actors. The involvement of diverse stakeholders led to better understanding of WHO processes. The use of intersecting and layered issue framing, framing solutions around snake antivenoms, in a background of cross-cultural fascination and fear of snakes enabled prioritisation in the re-crescendo phase. Ebbs and flows in legitimacy of the network and reluctant acceptance of snakebite within the NTD community are challenges.ConclusionOur analyses imply a fragile placement of snakebite in the global agenda. We identify two challenges, which needs to be overcome. The study highlights the need to review the WHO criteria for classifying diseases as NTD. We propose that future prioritisation analysis should consider identifying temporal patterns, as well as integrating legitimacy dimensions, as in our study.

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“…Approaches such as the waterpoint approach may correlate with snake population density, especially in arid and semi-arid regions. There is emerging evidence that distance to water sources may predict the risk of snakebite in some communities [ 45 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Conducting epidemiological studies on snakebite in nomadic populations: A methodological paper

Oluoch,

Otundo,

Nyawacha

et al. 2023

PLoS Negl Trop Dis

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Introduction Research on snakebite has mostly been conducted on settled populations and current risk factors and potential interventions are therefore most suited for these populations. There is limited epidemiological data on mobile and nomadic populations, who may have a higher risk of snakebite. Methods and results We conducted a scoping review to gather evidence on survey methods used in nomadic populations and compared them with contemporary survey methods used for snakebite research. Only 16 (10.5%) of 154 articles reportedly conducted on pastoralist nomadic populations actually involved mobile pastoralists. All articles describing snakebite surveys (n = 18) used multistage cluster designs on population census sampling frames, which would not be appropriate for nomadic populations. We used geospatial techniques and open-source high-resolution satellite images to create a digital sampling frame of 50,707 households and used a multistage sampling strategy to survey nomadic and semi-nomadic populations in Samburu County, Kenya. From a sample of 900 geo-located households, we correctly identified and collected data from 573 (65.4%) households, of which 409 were in their original locations and 164 had moved within 5km of their original locations. We randomly sampled 302 (34.6%) households to replace completely abandoned and untraceable households. Conclusion Highly mobile populations require specific considerations in selecting or creating sampling frames and sampling units for epidemiological research. Snakebite risk has a strong spatial component and using census-based sampling frames would be inappropriate in nomadic populations. We propose using open-source satellite imaging and geographic information systems to improve the conduct of epidemiological research in these populations.

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Estimating and predicting snakebite risk in the Terai region of Nepal through a high-resolution geospatial and One Health approach

Cited by 10 publications

References 56 publications

Identifying high snakebite risk area under climate change for community education and antivenom distribution

Identifying high snakebite risk area under climate change for community education and antivenom distribution

How and why snakebite became a global health priority: a policy analysis

Conducting epidemiological studies on snakebite in nomadic populations: A methodological paper

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