The Papua New Guinea snakebite partnership: a retrospective study of snakebite epidemiology and management, 2018-2023
4 affiliations
- 1School of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Papua New Guinea , ,
- 2Australian Venom Research Unit, Department of Biochemistry and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, University of Melbourne , , ,
- 3Pacific Adventist University , ,
- 4National Department of Health , ,
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
This retrospective analysis reviewed the clinical records of patients treated for snakebites at 49 health centres across PNG between 5th March 2018 and 31 December 2023 collected on behalf of the PNG National Department of Health (NDoH) through the PNG Snakebite Partnership. Data included 1. Patient demographics (e.g., age, sex), 2. Circumstances of the bite (e.g., location, size, and time), 3. Observed clinical symptoms, 4. Treatments administered (e.g., 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.
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BibTeX
@article{roalakona2026papua,
title = {{The Papua New Guinea snakebite partnership: a retrospective study of snakebite epidemiology and management, 2018-2023}},
author = {Geno Roalakona and Andrew Maru and Timothy N. W. Jackson and Teatulohi Matainaho and Garry Nou and Nakapi Tefuarani and Andrew D. Watt},
journal = {Frontiers in toxicology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3389/ftox.2026.1961869},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13719242},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - The Papua New Guinea snakebite partnership: a retrospective study of snakebite epidemiology and management, 2018-2023
AU - Geno Roalakona
AU - Andrew Maru
AU - Timothy N. W. Jackson
AU - Teatulohi Matainaho
AU - Garry Nou
AU - Nakapi Tefuarani
AU - Andrew D. Watt
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - Frontiers in toxicology
DO - 10.3389/ftox.2026.1961869
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/PMC/PMC13719242
AB - 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 This retrospective analysis reviewed the clinical records of patients treated for snakebites at 49 health centres across PNG between 5th March 2018 and 31 December 2023 collected on behalf of the PNG National Department of Health (NDoH) through the PNG Snakebite Partnership. Data included 1. Patient demographics (e.g., age, sex), 2. Circumstances of the bite (e.g., location, size, and time), 3. Observed clinical symptoms, 4. Treatments administered (e.g., 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.
SN - 2673-3080
ER -