Full Text Available
Note: Clicking the button above will open the full text document at the original institutional repository in a new window.
Presentation and management of snakebite envenomation in the uMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal (Mosvold Hospital)
Background. Snakebites have been recognized as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2009, and in 2017, was elevated to category A. South Africa (SA) has a well documented prevalence of snakebites, and there has been a recent surge in attention due to dwindling an...
Saved in:
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Division of Emergency Medicine
2025
|
| Subjects: | |
| Tags: |
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1867613162786783232 |
|---|---|
| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Kabeya, Matamba Jean Benoit |
| author2 | Hodkinson, Peter |
| author_browse | Hodkinson, Peter Kabeya, Matamba Jean Benoit |
| author_facet | Hodkinson, Peter Kabeya, Matamba Jean Benoit |
| author_sort | Kabeya, Matamba Jean Benoit |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Background. Snakebites have been recognized as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2009, and in 2017, was elevated to category A. South Africa (SA) has a well documented prevalence of snakebites, and there has been a recent surge in attention due to dwindling antivenom stocks. uMkhanyakude District in the far northeast of SA is known to use more antivenoms than elsewhere in SA, and thus seemingly to have the highest incidence of venomous snakebites in SA, yet no recent study has come from this district to describe snakebite management. Although there are various protocols and guidelines, as well as tools for assessing severity, none are standardized and it remains unclear what local management (and outcomes) are, particularly at the level of a small district hospital with arguably the highest incidence of snake bites in SA. Methods This study is a descriptive, retrospective observational study, describing all victims of snakebites presenting from 01st September 2019 to 31st August 2022 to a district hospital, Mosvold Hospital. Data was collected from patient's medical records. Information about demographics, clinical presentations, treatments and outcomes was collected and analysed. Results Some 155 snakebite cases presented, including 81 women (52.26%) and 74 men (47.74%). The incidence rate was 58 snakebite cases per 100000 people per years. Most patients were young, with a median age of 19 years (range 0-94 years), and most bites occurred outdoors (48.70%). Patients were most often bitten on the lower limb (69.03%), and most presented with minimal swelling - 117 patients (75.48%). Antivenom was administered to 33 patients (21.29%), and 24 (72.73%) of those who received antivenom experienced some form of post-antivenom reaction. Three patients died during their hospital stay, resulting in a mortality rate of 1.2 deaths per 100000 people per years. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41000 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:31:45.395Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Division of Emergency Medicine |
| publisherStr | Division of Emergency Medicine |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/41000 Presentation and management of snakebite envenomation in the uMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal (Mosvold Hospital) Kabeya, Matamba Jean Benoit Hodkinson, Peter Wood, Darryl snakebite envenomation uMkhanyakude district KwaZulu-Natal Mosvold Hospital Background. Snakebites have been recognized as a neglected tropical disease by the World Health Organization (WHO) since 2009, and in 2017, was elevated to category A. South Africa (SA) has a well documented prevalence of snakebites, and there has been a recent surge in attention due to dwindling antivenom stocks. uMkhanyakude District in the far northeast of SA is known to use more antivenoms than elsewhere in SA, and thus seemingly to have the highest incidence of venomous snakebites in SA, yet no recent study has come from this district to describe snakebite management. Although there are various protocols and guidelines, as well as tools for assessing severity, none are standardized and it remains unclear what local management (and outcomes) are, particularly at the level of a small district hospital with arguably the highest incidence of snake bites in SA. Methods This study is a descriptive, retrospective observational study, describing all victims of snakebites presenting from 01st September 2019 to 31st August 2022 to a district hospital, Mosvold Hospital. Data was collected from patient's medical records. Information about demographics, clinical presentations, treatments and outcomes was collected and analysed. Results Some 155 snakebite cases presented, including 81 women (52.26%) and 74 men (47.74%). The incidence rate was 58 snakebite cases per 100000 people per years. Most patients were young, with a median age of 19 years (range 0-94 years), and most bites occurred outdoors (48.70%). Patients were most often bitten on the lower limb (69.03%), and most presented with minimal swelling - 117 patients (75.48%). Antivenom was administered to 33 patients (21.29%), and 24 (72.73%) of those who received antivenom experienced some form of post-antivenom reaction. Three patients died during their hospital stay, resulting in a mortality rate of 1.2 deaths per 100000 people per years. 2025-02-21T11:12:31Z 2025-02-21T11:12:31Z 2024 2025-02-21T11:10:52Z Thesis / Dissertation Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41000 eng application/pdf Division of Emergency Medicine Faculty of Health Sciences University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | snakebite envenomation uMkhanyakude district KwaZulu-Natal Mosvold Hospital Kabeya, Matamba Jean Benoit Presentation and management of snakebite envenomation in the uMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal (Mosvold Hospital) |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Presentation and management of snakebite envenomation in the uMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal (Mosvold Hospital) |
| title_full | Presentation and management of snakebite envenomation in the uMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal (Mosvold Hospital) |
| title_fullStr | Presentation and management of snakebite envenomation in the uMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal (Mosvold Hospital) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Presentation and management of snakebite envenomation in the uMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal (Mosvold Hospital) |
| title_short | Presentation and management of snakebite envenomation in the uMkhanyakude district of KwaZulu-Natal (Mosvold Hospital) |
| title_sort | presentation and management of snakebite envenomation in the umkhanyakude district of kwazulu natal mosvold hospital |
| topic | snakebite envenomation uMkhanyakude district KwaZulu-Natal Mosvold Hospital |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41000 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT kabeyamatambajeanbenoit presentationandmanagementofsnakebiteenvenomationintheumkhanyakudedistrictofkwazulunatalmosvoldhospital |