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Snakebite and its impact in rural communities: The need for a One Health approach

2019; Public Library of Science; Volume: 13; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1371/journal.pntd.0007608

1935-2735

Sara Babo Martins, Isabelle Bolon, François Chappuis, Nicolas Ray, Gabriel Alcoba, Carlos Ochoa, Sanjib Kumar Sharma, Armand Séraphin Nkwescheu, Franck Wanda, Andrew M. Durso, Rafael Ruiz de Castañeda,

Rabies epidemiology and control

Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) with a significant public health impact. It is estimated to cause up to 138,000 deaths worldwide every year and 400,000 victims of permanent disability, including blindness or restricted mobility (reviewed in [1]). The most vulnerable populations are those where the presence of venomous snakes overlaps with the lack of access to healthcare and effective treatment [2]. In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) formally listed snakebite envenoming (snakebite hereafter) as a NTD, adding it to the global health agenda and marking an important shift in both awareness and control efforts [1]. In 2018, the resolution on snakebite envenoming adopted by the 71st World Health Assembly urged Member States to assess and address the burden of snakebite. In a topic area in which large data gaps remain, there is currently also a call for a wider, transdisciplinary approach to the snakebite problem and overall enhanced systemic thinking in the field [3]. This viewpoint highlights the need to frame snakebite as an issue at the interface of humans, domestic animals, and snakes in agroecosystems, in such a systemic thinking context. We explore how human health, animal health, and reliance on agricultural activity and domestic animals for livelihood should be considered in a One Health approach. We further discuss how One Health can be used to enhance our understanding of this complex issue, namely of its eco-epidemiology and its broad socioeconomic impact, contributing to filling key research gaps.