The inability to reach medical care is one of the biggest issues in the treatment of venomous snake bites in Africa. The lack of anti-venom is a close second.

As many as 1.5 million people in that region are bitten by snakes each year, according to a new study that analyzed three decades worth of surveys and medical reports. Previous studies were based on less reliable methods and may have underestimated the problem, the researchers said.

The majority of snakebites and deaths from these bites occur in rural areas, where access to health care services is limited, the researchers said.

The new findings are important because, without knowing the true size of the problem, and which areas are most affected, authorities cannot properly address the issue, said study researcher Jean-Philippe Chippaux, of the Institute of Research for Development (IRD) in Paris.

Currently there is only enough anti-venom (also called antivenin) available in the region to treat about 10 percent of snakebite cases. Pharmaceutical companies have been reluctant to manufacture anti-venom because they do not know how much to make or where to distribute it, Chippaux said.

The new findings may signal to these companies that there is a need for more anti-venom. Doctors in the region should also be trained to treat snake bites and administer anti-venom, Chippaux said.

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David Williams is currently working on a project to reduce mortality rates and increase anti-venom. That is still a bit down the road, but he, along with a group of co-authors, released a paper as the first phase of that project this spring. You can read the abstract and purchase the full paper here. As more details of the project become finalized, we will help David spread the word.