A Professor of Infection and Tropical Diseases Epidemiology at the Bayero University, Kano, Abdulrazaq Habib, has called on the Federal Government to tackle the effect of pesticides and snakebites in the country. He made the appeal at the opening of a two-day workshop on integrating and strengthening emergency care of poisoned and envenomed patients in West Africa in Abuja on Monday. According to him, Nigeria has the highest burden of snakebite envenoming on the African continent. He also said pesticides and other forms of agricultural poisoning are a large burden on the continent.
The don said there was a need to integrate and strengthen the management of poisons in general. According to him, it was imperative to integrate the management of the duo, adding that it could strengthen the poison centers within the country and also improve the understanding of the problems. The Director, Centre for Pesticide Suicide Prevention, University of Edinburgh, UK, Prof Michael Eddleston, said the aim of the programme is to stop incidents of people dying from pesticide poisoning. The don said he is partnering with others to work out the long-term consequences of exposure to pesticides in food, water and people.
A Scientist of Anti-venoms with the World Health Organization, Mr David Williams said snakebite remained a big problem for rural communities, adding it had probably claimed 40,000 lives a year across sub-Saharan Africa. He added that it had left six times more people permanently disabled and they were unable to support their families and also earn a living. Williams added that there are better ways to collect information and data to inform governments so they could put in place a policy. “And of course, there are big problems with shortages of safe and effective treatments for antivenoms. “There are problems with inadequate training for health workers and communities not knowing the right ways to prevent and avoid snakebite.” Also speaking, a Consultant of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Dr Usman Abdulrahman, said they will work hard to reduce the impact of pesticide poisoning and snakebite complications in Nigeria. He said, “We are looking at how these big mysteries that have come, especially on the side of anti-venom, how they can be able to help Nigeria to supply anti-venom”.
The expert said they will also look at how anti-snake venom could be accessed, especially in rural areas.
He said, “We are looking at a very big grant from the University of Edinburgh in this area and at the same time, the issue of snake bite, treatment and prevention”. Abdulrahman said they are also looking at the establishment of integrated poison centres across the country and sub-Saharan Africa.
Meanwhile. The Director, Neglected Tropical Diseases, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Adedayo Peters, said the ministry had received more than 5,000 cases of snake bites. According to him, there are three very common poisonous snakes in Nigeria – the spitting cobra, the carpet viper and the black cobra.” They are the types you have in Nigeria. These poisonous snakes are more common in some parts of the country where you have snakes everywhere.” We have treatment centers where people bitten by snakes, usually go to and they are given treatments,” he said.
