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Bites and stings – the silent killers
Every year in Africa, more than 20,000 people die as a result of bites and stings. It’s a very serious problem! For local people, snake bites and being stung by scorpions and spiders is part of everyday life.
It’s a genuine public health problem, but not one that should be seen as unavoidable. Which is why specialists and many African organisations concerned have come together on this matter.
Prevention, the training of qualified staff, the treatment of victims … their schedule was a busy one. And with good reason! In sub-Saharan Africa the statistics are shocking. In the absence of really reliable figures it is estimated that more than a million people are bitten by snakes every year. And several hundred thousand are stung by scorpions. Yet only one victim in four receives proper treatment...
This failure can be explained mainly by the inaccessibility of modern healthcare centres, and hence a massive recourse to traditional medicines, which are largely ineffective. In the event of a snake bite, treatment with anti-venom serum injection is absolutely essential… And yet sales of these serums have fallen in this region… by over 95% in twenty years! Which means that less than 1% of requirements are covered. This paints a very gloomy picture for the area and one that contrasts with the countries of the Maghreb which have now managed to bring the situation relatively well under control.
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