The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 5 million snakebites occur each year, with between 81,000 and 138,000 deaths. A fear of snakes is common. It doesn’t help that snakes have long been cast as villains: In Raiders of the Lost Ark, a deadly cobra lurks in an ancient Egyptian temple. In Greek mythology, Medusa's snake mane is her ultimate weapon. And in real life, White Lotus star Walton Goggins recently revealed he was bitten by a snake while filming in Thailand.

It’s no surprise that travellers worry about snakebite. So in the 10th episode of Travel Unravelled, we’re exploring how to minimize the risk of envenomation—and providing some tips for travellers and clinicians in the event that they do encounter a bite from a venomous serpent. Here, the Travel Unravelled team of Dr. Albie de Frey, Dr. Sarah McGuinness and Dr. Aisha Khatib benefit from the perspectives of renowned experts Professor David Warrell, the founding director of the Centre for Tropical Medicine at Oxford University, UK and Dr. Bart Currie, leader of the Tropical and Emerging Infectious Diseases team at the Menzies School of Health Research in Darwin, Australia.

How do you determine snakebite risk at your travel destination? What can you do to minimize snakebite risk? What should you do if you get bitten by a snake? Takeaways that our experts explore include:

• The importance of immobilization and getting to medical care quickly

• The value of a photo of the snake, if safe to obtain

• The fact that not all snakebite victims require antivenom

• And that clinical assessment and observation are crucial in early hospital management

LINKS

• Watch the World Health Organization’s Science in 5 - Snakebites: Life saving facts

• This GeoSentinel analysis provides lots of information about travellers’ exposures to animals around the world—including snakes.

• The WHO Factsheet on snakebite envenoming.

• Snake identification in Africa

• Guidelines on snake antivenom production

• Map showing snake species, data, and information

• Prevention and clinical management of snakebite in Africa

• Prevention and clinical management of snakebite in South and South East Asia

• Bandage types for snakebite first aid

• Global mapping of snakebite envenoming hotspots

• To follow us on your favourite podcast platform, go to our show feed on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or YouTube. Please remember to rate the show!

• Visit the International Association for Medical Assistance to Travellers (IAMAT), which provides extensive resources, like the Guide to Healthy Travel, and Guide to Travel Health Insurance. IAMAT is the exclusive sponsor of season 2 of ISTM’s Travel Unravelled podcast.

• The ISTM’s Travel Unravelled podcast is produced by Ghost Bureau, the Toronto content agency.

DISCUSSION POINTS00:00 Introduction 01:42 Catching up with Travel Unravelled hosts 03:50 Introducing our guests​ 08:30 Is the fear of snakes an unreasonable concern for travellers? 12:50 Types of snakes: Cytotoxic, Neurotoxic, Hemotoxic 21:07 What to do if you've been bitten by a snake 34:23 Snakebite first aid: Everything you need to know 50:10 Signs and symptoms of snakebite 1:00:02 How to effectively treat a snakebite 1:08:00 Final remarks