Snakebite Epidemiology in Bangladesh—A National Community Based Health and Injury Survey

Abstract

Insert Snakebite is a global public health issue, and in majority of cases it is undermined. Tropical and subtropical countries are most effected, Bangladesh being one of them. There is scarcity of countries’ epidemiological situation in relation to snakebite poisoning. This study has looked at the epidemiological status of snakebite poisoning from national representative survey findings. Methods: A nationwide cross-sectional survey was conducted in 12 randomly selected districts of Bangladesh in 2003. A total of 171,366 households were surveyed and information was collected from 819,429 populations by face to face interview. Multi-stage cluster sampling methods were used in this survey and covered urban, rural and slum populations. Results: Annually an estimated 15,372 (10.98/100,000) individuals were bitten by snakes and of them 1709 (1.22/100,000) died every year. Males were found to be most vulnerable with a risk of 1.51 times higher than female. Rural populations were also 10.54 times higher at risk than the populations living in the urban areas. Among the victims 94% were from the poor socio economic conditions. Around 43.9% of the incidences occurred during evening to midnight. Home was found the most common area for snake bite (33.6%), and the Leg was found to be the most common site for biting (63.1%). A total of 96.6% victims sought treatment, of them 61% sought immediate treatment from traditional healing methods. Conclusions: Present incidence of snakebite in Bangladesh has clearly shown that there is emerging public health needs for intervention that can reduce the mortality and burden of the disease in the country.