Article type
Abstract
Background:
Snakebite envenomation is a significant global health issue, particularly in tropical and subtropical countries. According to global estimate, each year around 1.8 to 2.7 million people encounter snakebite resulting in high morbidity and mortality rates. Despite its significant health impact, snakebite envenomation has been largely neglected by the global health community. In 2017, the World Health Organization recognized snakebite envenomation as a category A Neglected Tropical Disease, paving the way for increased focus for snakebite prevention and treatment.
Objectives:
The systematic review summarizes global incidence of snakebite among human, regional variations in snakebite incidence and examines global incidence patterns of hemotoxic and neurotoxic snakebites.
Methods:
A comprehensive literature search was carried out across Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. The screening of articles was performed using Covidence and finally, relevant data were extracted from 35 peer-reviewed articles. To ensure the quality and reliability of our findings, we used the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tool. Meta-analysis was done using R software. We employed a random effects model for the meta-analysis to account for any potential heterogeneity among the studies.
Results:
Our review revealed a global snakebite incidence rate of 141.4(72.33-210.46) per 100,000 person-years. Upon further analysing the snakebite incidencerate(country wise) stratified according to income level demonstrates that in low and middle income countries (LMIC), the incidence rate is188.82 (89.82-287.81),in high-income countries (HIC) it is 33.75 (31.95-35.55),in upper-middle-income countries (UMIC) it is 34.75 (17.93-51.57) and in low-income countries (LIC) it is 120.9 (27.35-214.45) per 100,000 person-years. The community-based studies have reported a substantially higher incidence rate of 276.0 (141.72-410.27), compared to the hospital or clinic-based studies that have reported an incidence rate of 36.76 (23.22-50.29) per 100,000 person-years.
Conclusions:
Present systematic review and meta-analysis highlights the global burden of snakebite envenomation, emphasizing its disproportionate impact on different income group countries. The meta-analysis on various factors illustrates theirrole towards the snakebite envenomationand further in developing context specific preventive strategies.
Snakebite envenomation is a significant global health issue, particularly in tropical and subtropical countries. According to global estimate, each year around 1.8 to 2.7 million people encounter snakebite resulting in high morbidity and mortality rates. Despite its significant health impact, snakebite envenomation has been largely neglected by the global health community. In 2017, the World Health Organization recognized snakebite envenomation as a category A Neglected Tropical Disease, paving the way for increased focus for snakebite prevention and treatment.
Objectives:
The systematic review summarizes global incidence of snakebite among human, regional variations in snakebite incidence and examines global incidence patterns of hemotoxic and neurotoxic snakebites.
Methods:
A comprehensive literature search was carried out across Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and PsycINFO. The screening of articles was performed using Covidence and finally, relevant data were extracted from 35 peer-reviewed articles. To ensure the quality and reliability of our findings, we used the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Quality Assessment Tool. Meta-analysis was done using R software. We employed a random effects model for the meta-analysis to account for any potential heterogeneity among the studies.
Results:
Our review revealed a global snakebite incidence rate of 141.4(72.33-210.46) per 100,000 person-years. Upon further analysing the snakebite incidencerate(country wise) stratified according to income level demonstrates that in low and middle income countries (LMIC), the incidence rate is188.82 (89.82-287.81),in high-income countries (HIC) it is 33.75 (31.95-35.55),in upper-middle-income countries (UMIC) it is 34.75 (17.93-51.57) and in low-income countries (LIC) it is 120.9 (27.35-214.45) per 100,000 person-years. The community-based studies have reported a substantially higher incidence rate of 276.0 (141.72-410.27), compared to the hospital or clinic-based studies that have reported an incidence rate of 36.76 (23.22-50.29) per 100,000 person-years.
Conclusions:
Present systematic review and meta-analysis highlights the global burden of snakebite envenomation, emphasizing its disproportionate impact on different income group countries. The meta-analysis on various factors illustrates theirrole towards the snakebite envenomationand further in developing context specific preventive strategies.