GENEVA (AP) — The World Health Organization is launching a new website it hopes will cut the estimated 100,000 deaths from snake bites annually
The U.N. health agency says the site contains a database of approved antivenoms to treat the 2.5 million people who suffer venomous bites each year.
WHO says antivenoms — antidotes developed from the venom itself — can prevent disability or death but many are inappropriate and have led to a loss of confidence among doctors and patients.
WHO’s coordinator for medicine safety, Dr. Lembit Rago, says snake bites are a neglected public health issue in many tropical and subtropical countries.
He told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that most deaths and serious consequences from snake bites are preventable.
