Global Snake Bite Initiative

David Williams shares his motivation:

My first visit to Papua New Guinea was in 1995 and in the years since I have developed a deep affection both for the country and its natural treasures, and for the people, who are truly the victims of bad press, for Papua New Guineans are, by-and-large among the friendliest and most genuine people I have met anywhere in the world. PNG is truly the "Land of the Unexpected", and anyone who visits here with an open-mind, warm smile and a sense of adventure cannot fail to be rewarded.

Snakes are widely feared in Papua New Guinea, and with very good reason. Venomous snake bite is a serious public health problem, with localized incidence among the highest of any tropical region in the world. In Central Province (which surrounds the national capital, Port Moresby), the incidence averages 215.5 victims per 100,000 people, but in some sub-provinces, such as Kairuku (which includes Yule Island and the villages of Bereina and Veifa’a) localized incidence exceeds 1,300 victims per 100,000 – among the highest rates of snake bite in the world. Each year in Central Province an average of 7.9 victims per 100,000 die as a result of snakebites, and this figure may in fact be far higher – many victims die before they can reach Aid Posts and Rural Health Centres, and these deaths rarely register in official statistics. In studies conducted during the early 1990’s in Central Province, it was found that children accounted for 16% of envenomed patients, with 8.5% being below 10 years of age, while the overall mean age of patients was 25.0 years. Very little detailed information available about the incidence, or mortality arising from snakebites in other provinces of southern Papua New Guinea.

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