• It is estimated that 50,000 snakebite cases take place in Kenya annually.
• Snakebite incidents are on the World Health Organization's list of neglected topical diseases
Image: JOSEPH KANGOGO
The Health ministry has shelved plans to use drones to deliver anti-venoms in cases of emergency snakebites due to security issues.
The plan was to use lightweight drones to deliver anti-venom packages to clinics, where patients can easily access them during emergencies.
“We have hit a snag because it is a security issue. We were told we have to bring in civil aviation and internal security,” Division of Vector Borne and Neglected Tropical Diseases head Dr Sultani Matendechero said.
Anti-venom is a medicine that is given to stop snake venom from binding to tissues and causing serious blood, tissue, or nervous system problems.
The Division of Vector Borne and Neglected Tropical Diseases under the ministry had made progress and had contacted officials from the Zilpline drone company that was supposed to supply the drones.
“That would have been very good because one of the problems we have, for example the black mamba if it bites you in 15 minutes you are dead, but if the anti-venom is stuck in traffic you will die before the anti-venom arrives,” Matendechero said.
“What we were trying to do with the drones was to take the anti-venom quickly to the location where patients are to save lives but actualising it is very hard.”
Snakebite incidents are on the World Health Organization's list of neglected topical diseases.
They are a significant cause of mortality and morbidity in most parts of the world.
Snakebites are neglected in Kenya. This is because there is low awareness of snakebites as a public health problem in the country.
Few studies have been carried out to evaluate the magnitude of the problem of snakebites in Kenya. Incidents of snakebites have been reported in Western, Baringo, Laikipia, Kilifi and Malindi as well as Northern Kenya.
Matendechero said it is estimated that 50,000 snakebite cases take place in Kenya annually. Of the cases, only 15,000 are reported.
Globally, the WHO estimates that between 81,000 and 138,000 people die each year after being bitten by a snake, while 400,000 are left disabled.
Puff adders, black spitting cobras, black mambas and boomslangs have been reported to be behind a majority of the snakebites in Kenya.
The Black mamba is considered the world’s largest venomous snake and the fourth most venomous snake. Its bite can kill within half an hour. Its venom, a neurotoxin, kills by paralycing its victims.
Puff adders are the main cause of injuries and deaths in Kenya because they are nocturnal and well camouflaged.
Puff adder venom is potently cytotoxic, causing severe pain, swelling, blistering and in many cases severe tissue damage.
Despite the constant need for snakebite treatment in the county’s hospitals, there is little training for medical staff and prevention work is limited.
Community health workers, who tend to be the first point of access in remote rural areas, also lack training.
Zipline has pioneered medical deliveries to rural communities in Rwanda and Ghana and is using its drone deliveries to support the coronavirus fight in Africa, such as the delivery of Covid-19 test samples.
Edited by A.N