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The Papua New Guinea snakebite partnership: a retrospective study of snakebite epidemiology and management, 2018-2023

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background: Snakebite envenoming is a major public health challenge across Papua New Guinea (PNG). Since 2018, the PNG Snakebite Partnership has distributed life-saving Australian antivenoms to health centres across PNG, trained healthcare workers in appropriate snakebite patient management, and collected snakebite patient data to map the impact of snakebite at participating health centres. Here, we report on the snakebite patient data collected through the PNG Snakebite Partnership between 2018 and 2023. Methods: , antivenom), and 5. Patient outcomes, where available. Findings: A total of 2,573 snakebite patients attended participating health facilities during the 5.75-year study period. Most snakebite patients were male (59.89%) with a median age of 24 (16.00-35.00). Children (≤16 years of age) accounted for a quarter of all snakebite patients (n = 651, 25.30%). September had the highest number of bites recorded (n = 260) though no statistical differences were observed across months or seasons. Of the 2,573 snakebite patients assessed, 1,199 patients (46.60%) were administered antivenom, with just under half of patients receiving taipan antivenom (n = 535, 44.62%), followed by polyvalent antivenom (n = 442, 36.86%), and death adder antivenom (n = 222, 18.51%). Antivenom was shown to be well tolerated with <15% (n = 169) of patients recorded as experiencing adverse reactions, most of which were classified as mild. 32 fatal snakebites were recorded during the study period, equating to a fatality rate of 2.36% (adult rate - 2.42%; child rate - 2.56%). Interpretation: With the increased availability of free and effective antivenoms through the Partnership, consistent and widespread public health interventions can work to reduce the burden of snakebite in challenging and resource-limited environments. These preliminary analyses estimate that between 901-1,100 snakebite patients survived their bites after receiving treatment through the Partnership. These estimates highlight the success of the program; however, it is also important to acknowledge that they are based on incomplete data. For a more accurate accounting of the impact of this program, further efforts that increase the collection of accurate and complete patient data are required to provide a more finely tuned assessment of both the scale of snakebite and the impact of the Partnership across PNG.

Source: Frontiers in Toxicology

DOI: 10.3389/ftox.2026.1961869