Watch the full version of the “Kenya in desperate need for more snake antivenom“ article – in a minute.
Writhing in pain on a hospital bed in a Kenyan coastal town, teenage snakebite victim Shukurani Konde Tuva faced the grim reality of his left leg from above the knee being amputated.
The 14-year-old was bitten by a puff adder – a venomous snake and the most common snakebite in sub-Saharan Africa – while eating outdoors in his village near the town of Malindi more than a month ago.
His family rushed him to hospital two hours away by motorbike, but the antivenom he received did not help.
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SNAKEBITE CRISIS: KENYA LOW ON ANTIVENOM
Some 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes each year globally and roughly half are poisoned by venom, according to World Health Organisation (WHO) data.
Up to 138 000 people die and 400 000 suffer permanent physical effects, though the WHO says the numbers are a “gross underestimation” since an estimated 70 percent of cases go unreported.
KENYA RUNNING LOW ON LIFESAVING SNAKEBITE TREATMENT
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