WHO unveils plan to tackle global snakebite emergency

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Geneva: The World Health Organisation on Thursday unveiled a new strategy to dramatically cut deaths and injuries from snakebites, warning a dearth of antivenoms could soon spark a "public health emergency". Each year, nearly three million people are bitten by poisonous snakes, with an estimated 81,000-138,000 deaths.
Another 400,000 survivors suffer permanent disabilities and other after-effects, according to WHO figures.
In a new report, the UN health agency urged the international community to take steps to address the problem, which it warned had long been dangerously underestimated and neglected.
WHO, which two years ago categorised "snakebite envenoming" as a Neglected Tropical Disease, presented a strategy aimed at cutting snakebite-related deaths and disabilities in half by 2030.
Read Also: WHO aims to reduce deaths, disabilities caused by neglected Snakebite envenoming disease by 50 percent
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