Abstract
BackgroundVenomous snakes are among the most serious health hazards for rural people in tropical regions of the world. Herein we compare the monthly activity patterns of eight venomous snake species (Elapidae and Viperidae) with those of rural people in the Niger Delta area of southern Nigeria, in order to identify the periods of highest potential risk for persons, and the human group actually at greater risk of snakebite.ResultsWe documented that above-ground activity of all venomous snakes peaked in the wet season, and that high snake activity and high human activity were most highly correlated between April and August. In addition, we documented that women and teenagers were at relatively higher risk of encountering a venomous snake than adult males, despite they are less often in the field than men.ConclusionsOur results suggest that future programs devoted to mitigate the social and health effects of snakebites in the Niger Delta region should involve especially women and teenagers, with ad-hoc education projects if appropriate. We urge that international organizations working on social and health problems in the developing world, such as IRD, DFID, UNDP, should provide advice through specific programs targeted at especially these categories which have been highlighted in comparatively potential higher threat from snakebites than adult men.
Highlights
Venomous snakes are among the most serious health hazards for rural people in tropical regions of the world
Venomous snakes certainly are among the main health hazards for rural people in tropical regions of the world, while it is calculated that many thousands of people die yearly on account of snakebite, especially in India, and in Africa and South America [1,2]
Activity patterns of venomous snakes This study focuses on eight venomous ophidian species, four from Elapidae and four from Viperidae
Summary
Venomous snakes are among the most serious health hazards for rural people in tropical regions of the world. We compare the monthly activity patterns of eight venomous snake species (Elapidae and Viperidae) with those of rural people in the Niger Delta area of southern Nigeria, in order to identify the periods of highest potential risk for persons, and the human group at greater risk of snakebite. By taking advantage of the most prolonged longitudinal field study (16 years) on the ecology of tropical snake communities available in the world [4,5], we analyze the correlation between the monthly activity patterns of eight species of venomous snakes (belonging to the families Elapidae and Viperidae) and people in rural areas of the Niger Delta, in southern Nigeria. This study region is interesting from the venomous-snake point of view because, having been extensively deforested in the last 50 years, it has been invaded by the spitting cobra (Naja nigricollis), which otherwise tends to inhabit the savannah, to the detriment of the once dominant cobra species (the forest cobra Naja melanoleuca), typically adapted to life in the rainforest [3,6,7,8,9,10,11]
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