Scale of snakebites estimated globally

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Using available data and modelling to assess the incidence of snakebites and associated deaths provides information needed for efforts to tackle this public-health concern.

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  • Mary Abraham
  1. Mary Abraham

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A close-up view of a Taipan snake with detailed scales and a sharp focus on its head and eye. The snake's scales display a gradient of colours from dark blue and black near the head to orange and brown on the body, set against a black background.

Credit: Matthijs Kuijpers/Alamy

Snakes and their venom haunt history and literary imaginations. In Shakespeare’s tragedy Macbeth, Lady Macbeth chillingly tells her husband to “look like th’innocent flower, but be the serpent under ’t”.

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Nature 657, 43 (2026)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-02642-x

Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

  • Read the paper: Estimates of global burden of snakebite: A literature review and geostatistical modelling study

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Subjects

  • Health care
  • Epidemiology
  • Toxicology

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