Venom specialists said Wednesday that disease and disability caused by snake bites is far higher than official global health estimates suggest, and that anti-venom stocks are running dangerously low.
In a joint statement after a five-day conference in Britain, the international experts said snake bites kill more people than all other so-called neglected tropical diseases combined, yet get little attention or funding from the World Health Organization (WHO) or from governments.
Citing new evidence from a study in India and Bangladesh, the experts said around 46,000 people died annually of snake bites in India, plus another 6,000 in Bangladesh. The WHO estimates the annual death toll in India from snake bites is 10,000.
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