POLICY AND PRACTICE REVIEWS article
Front. Trop. Dis.
Sec. Neglected Tropical Diseases
This article is part of the Research TopicIntegrated Public Health Approaches for the Control of Neglected Tropical Diseases: Challenges and OpportunitiesView all 11 articles
Tackling the Burden of Envenomation in Africa: Advances, Challenges, and Strategic Priorities for Enhanced Diagnosis and Treatment
Provisionally accepted
Khawla Ammouch1,2*
Nihal Mesmoudi1,2
Noureddine Hammani2,3
Reto Stöcklin4
Jacob Galan4
Abdellah Moustaghfir1
Naoual Oukkache2*- 1Faculty of Dentistry, Mohammed V University, Agdal, Morocco
- 2Institut Pasteur du Maroc, Casablanca, Morocco
- 3Universite Hassan II de Casablanca Faculte de Medecine et de Pharmacie, Casablanca, Morocco
- 4The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Brownsville, United States
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Venomous animal envenomation remains a significant but neglected public health problem worldwide, with an estimated 5.4 million cases and up to 138,000 deaths annually. The burden is particularly acute in tropical and subtropical regions, especially sub-Saharan Africa, where rural and vulnerable populations face limited access to effective antivenoms and healthcare. Despite this, comprehensive data on envenomation incidence, clinical management, and outcomes remain scarce, hampering efforts to develop effective prevention and treatment strategies. This review synthesizes current knowledge on venomous animal diversity, epidemiology, and clinical manifestations globally, with a focus on Africa's unique challenges. We examine critical gaps in antivenom production, distribution, and affordability, and highlight international initiatives, including the World Health Organization's 2019 roadmap for snakebite envenoming control. Recent advances in diagnostics, therapeutics, and community engagement are discussed alongside persistent barriers to implementation. Finally, we propose strategic recommendations to strengthen surveillance, improve antivenom accessibility, and foster regional collaborations to reduce envenomation morbidity and mortality in Africa. Addressing these challenges requires coordinated global and local efforts to translate scientific advances into sustainable health outcomes for affected populations.
Keywords: Venomous animal, Envenomation, Public Health, Antivenom access, treatment strategies
Received: 24 Jun 2025; Accepted: 06 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Ammouch, Mesmoudi, Hammani, Stöcklin, Galan, Moustaghfir and Oukkache. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Khawla Ammouch, khawla_ammouch@um5.ac.ma
Naoual Oukkache, naoual.oukkache@pasteur.ma
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