Abstract
With estimates of 81 410–137 880 deaths and 400 000 cases of disability globally every year,1, 2 snakebite envenoming needs urgent attention. WHO launched a road map in May, 2019, and by 2030 hopes to see three million effective treatments produced annually and to halve snakebite-associated deaths and disabilities.1 Yet, before treating snakebite envenoming, there are fundamental questions: which species of snake has bitten the victim, what are the probable outcomes, and how can we intervene to improve the prognosis? These factors are central to understanding snakebite epidemiology.