Laboratorio de Venómica Evolutiva y Traslacional

Snakebite envenoming is a major public health problem in the developing world. Snakebite envenoming is an occupational and environmental disease of the young and agricultural workers, and an important cause of morbidity and mortality especially in the impoverished areas of the warmer tropics and subtropics, such as sub-Saharan Africa, South to South-East Asia, Papua New Guinea and Latin America. Snakebite envenoming occurs in at least 1.8-2.7 million people worldwide per year, causing between 94,000 and 125,000 deaths. In addition, a proportion of individuals develop chronic morbidity, disability and psychological sequelae following snakebite envenoming, including amputations, post-traumatic stress disorder, blindness, materno-foetal loss, contractures, chronic infections and malignant ulcers. Snakebite envenoming is a neglected tropical disease that not only kills and maims hundreds of thousands of of people every year, but also perpetuates the cycle of poverty.