Yearly snakebite deaths estimated at 274,000 to 513,000, well above earlier figures
A peer-reviewed study in PLOS Medicine combined a literature review covering 79 countries with geostatistical modelling and estimated 2.1 million to 7.0 million envenomings and 274,000 to 513,000 deaths each year. Sub-Saharan Africa carries 45 per cent of both estimates. Ediriweera and colleagues drew on literature published between January 2007 and March 2025 and modelled incidence for places where direct counts are missing.
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Yearly snakebite deaths estimated at 274,000 to 513,000, well above earlier figures A peer-reviewed study in PLOS Medicine combined a literature review covering 79 countries with geostatistical modelling and estimated 2.1 million to 7.0 million envenomings and 274,000 to 513,000 deaths each year. Sub-Saharan Africa carries 45 per cent of both estimates. Ediriweera and colleagues drew on literature published between January 2007 and March 2025 and modelled incidence for places where direct counts are missing. Ediriweera and colleagues drew on literature published between January 2007 and March 2025 and modelled incidence for places where direct counts are missing.[1]
Details in the report
A peer-reviewed study in PLOS Medicine combined a literature review covering 79 countries with geostatistical modelling and estimated 2.1 million to 7.0 million envenomings and 274,000 to 513,000 deaths each year. Sub-Saharan Africa carries 45 per cent of both estimates. Ediriweera and colleagues drew on literature published between January 2007 and March 2025 and modelled incidence for places where direct counts are missing. They write that earlier burden estimates may have substantially understated the problem. Because the underlying data are sparse and uneven, the team says the real totals are more likely to be understated than overstated, which is the direction that matters for antivenom supply.[1]
Additional context
Yearly snakebite deaths estimated at 274,000 to 513,000, well above earlier figures A peer-reviewed study in PLOS Medicine combined a literature review covering 79 countries with geostatistical modelling and estimated 2.1 million to 7.0 million envenomings and 274,000 to 513,000 deaths each year. Sub-Saharan Africa carries 45 per cent of both estimates. Ediriweera and colleagues drew on literature published between January 2007 and March 2025 and modelled incidence for places where direct counts are missing. They write that earlier burden estimates may have substantially understated the problem. Because the underlying data are sparse and uneven, the team says the real totals are more likely to be understated than overstated, which is the direction that matters for antivenom supply.[1]
