The snakebite squad

People Fixing the World

• Episode: The snakebite squad
• Website: People Fixing the World
• Feed URL: http://podcasts.files.bbci.co.uk/p04grdbc.rss
• Duration: 00:23:53
• Published: 2019-09-17 04:06

It's estimated that a person dies from a snakebite every five minutes. Many more people face life-changing injuries, losing limbs and consequently their livelihoods. Antivenoms are expensive to make and are in short supply, particularly in remote communities where they are needed the most. And what’s more, snakebites in different parts of the world need different types of antivenoms. Many of the current treatments available in sub-Saharan Africa have been developed from snakes in Asia, but antivenom made to treat Indian snakebites won’t work as well on people bitten by snakes in Africa. Now a new research facility in Kenya is trying to develop better antivenoms from African snakes. And they've launched a motorbike snakebite ambulance service too, to get people who have been bitten to hospital fast. (Photo Credit: BBC)