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Joan Stephenson, PhD

JAMA. 2008;300(23):2717.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Although bites by venomous snakes are relatively common, especially in rural areas of tropical and subtropical countries where access to health care and antivenoms is limited, the extent of the problem has been unclear. Now, researchers in Sri Lanka, Switzerland, and England, using the most comprehensive methods to date, estimate that annual number of deaths caused by snakebites ranges from at least 20 000 to as many as 94 000 (Kasturiratne A et al. PLoS Med. 2008;5[11]:e218).

The researchers estimated that at least 421 000 bites by venomous snakes occur each year, but noted that the annual number of "envenomings" could be as high as 1.8 million. South Asia, Southeast Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Central and South America have the highest burden of envenomings and deaths.

New research indicates that bites by venomous snakes cause at least 20 000 and perhaps as many as 94 000 deaths worldwide each year. (Photo . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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