Understanding and tackling snakebite envenoming with transdisciplinary research

Snakebite envenoming (SBE) is a neglected tropical disease (NTD) of high global impact. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates 4.5 to 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes annually, resulting in 1.8 to 2.7 million envenomings, 81,000 to 138,000 deaths, and at least 400,000 people suffering from physical or psychological sequelae [1,2]. SBE mostly affects impoverished rural populations in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America, and parts of Oceania, thus fueling a vicious cycle of poverty and illness. SBE not only affects humans, but also domestic animals, including livestock, with negative social and economic consequences [3,4]. This requires a better understanding of the complex social, cultural, and ecological contexts where SBE occurs [5], within the conceptual frame of One Health, an integrated approach that recognizes the health of humans, animals, and the environment as closely linked and interdependent [6]. Such complexity demands more integrative approaches for better understanding and confronting this disease.