Researchers predict that many countries will not be ready when a series of poisonous snakes invade, leading to an increase in snakebites.
Climate change is likely to lead to large-scale migrations of venomous snakes to new areas and unprepared countries, according to research published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health. A research team predicts Nepal, Niger, Namibia, China and Myanmar will welcome the most venomous snake species from their neighbors as the climate warms, Guardian reported on May 3. Low-income countries in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as parts of Africa will be vulnerable to increased snakebite cases.
The study modeled the geographic distribution of 209 venomous snake species that can cause human emergencies to understand where different snake species will find favorable climate conditions in 2070. While the majority of species Venomous snakes will experience range contraction due to the loss of tropical and subtropical ecosystems, the environment of some species such as the West African gaboon viper will increase by 250%. The range of the European asp and desert horned viper is also predicted to more than double by 2070.
However, some snake species, including the endemic horned snake in Africa and the snub-nosed snake in the Americas, will lose more than 70% of their habitat. As more and more land is converted to grow crops and raise livestock, the natural habitats on which snakes depend are being destroyed and fragmented, according to study co-author Pablo Ariel Martinez of the University of California. Sergipe Federation in Brazil and Talita F Amado at the Biodiversity Research Center in Leipzig, Germany. Research results show that some venomous snake species can adapt to cropland and even thrive in areas where crops or livestock provide food sources such as rats.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 1.8 – 2.7 million people are bitten by venomous snakes each year, causing 138,000 deaths and at least 400,000 cases of amputation and permanent disability. WHO ranked snakebite envenomation as the top neglected tropical disease in 2017.
“Snake species will change their distribution according to climate change. The concern is that they will bite more people if warm temperatures, wet weather events and floods cause people and snakes to lose their homes.” happening more frequently,” said Anna Pintor, a scientist specializing in neglected tropical diseases at WHO. “We need to better understand how this affects where people are bitten and how many people are bitten so we can be prepared.”