Medical practitioners, healthcare workers and emergency departments in Southern Africa, have been provided with access to a new resource to assist them with the management of the victims of snakebites with the launch of a special advisory group of snakebite authorities.
The National Snakebite Advisory Group (NSAG) offers a free national advisory support service to medical personnel, clinicians and centres in both the public and private sector who may need to treat snakebite victims, said trauma surgeon Dr Tim Hardcastle, a member of NSAG and of the Trauma Society of South Africa.
Thea Litshka-Koen from Swaziland came up with the idea of NSAG after a number of deaths occurred from snakebites there.
“The group has been established with the express aim of assisting in reducing morbidity and mortality from snakebites in Southern Africa.
“We wanted to make sure that medical practitioners throughout the region have access to, and can be appropriately assisted by, this superb resource of national and international experts,” said Hardcastle.
The NSAG was officially launched on October 17 in commemoration of World Trauma Day.
The group includes medical and trauma practitioners who are highly experienced in snakebite treatment, as well as anti-venom and snake handling experts.
It has representatives throughout South Africa, as well as in neighbouring countries in Swaziland and Mozambique.
“The NSAG team endeavours to assist in getting snakebite victims to the most appropriate facility for the right treatment in a timely fashion, or to mobilise the necessary resources to get the patient optimal care if needed within a low-resource setting,” said Hardcastle.
“The members of the group are in constant contact, which enables us to exchange knowledge and expertise on an ongoing basis.
“They also have considerable knowledge about the snakes within their local regions, which is important as different kinds of snakes and snakebites are more common in some areas than others.
“For various reasons, snakebites are one of the most difficult and specialised areas of medicine, and as some of our medical centres in South Africa see relatively few snakebite cases, there is sometimes an uncertainty about the best course of action and treatment when a patient does present after having been bitten.
“This may include, for example, whether anti-venom is appropriate to administer and, if so, in what quantity.
“Bites from venomous snakes require the most urgent and appropriate treatment.
“There are, however, numerous factors involved when considering a snake bite, and those who are not experienced in the treatment of certain kinds of snakebites may feel uncertain about the most appropriate course of action to take,” he said.
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Hardcastle explained that there are numerous aspects to consider including what type of snake was involved, whether the snakebite punctured the skin; whether anti-venom treatment is appropriate under the circumstance; the risk of a bite resulting in anaphylactic shock; the best approach to the patient’s wound care, and so on.
“The members of the NSAG are all experts who know exactly what questions to ask in the case of a snakebite.
“They are all highly committed volunteer medical and snake authorities who share a common commitment in assisting the people of the region who are bitten by snakes, as well as an interest in improving medical outcomes,” he said.
Hardcastle pointed out that while the NSAG service is only directly available to healthcare practitioners and facilities, there are a number of resources available to the public.
These include the Poison Information Centre and the African Snakebite Institute, which offers a special information app from their website at www.africansnakebiteinstitute.com/snakebite/.
Medical practitioners and facilities can contact the NSAG at the following contact details:
• KZN Region: (also covers the Mozambique and Eastern Cape regions)
Dr Tim Hardcastle: Hardcastle@ukzn.ac.za or 082 468 1615.
Dr Jenna Taylor: jennaleightay@gmail.com or 031 240 2450 (anaesthesia department) or 083 631 4816.
Dr Sharadh Garach: sharadh.garach@kznhealth.gov.za or 082 495 0135.
Dr Christoff Bell: christoffbell1@gmail.com or 073 174 0199.
• Gauteng Region: (also covers the Free State and Northern Cape)
Prof Dries Engelbrecht: dries.engelbrecht@up.ac.za or 084 789 7364.
Dr Vidya Lalloo: vchags@yahoo.com or 082 700 2732.
Jason Seale: zoogang@mweb.co.za or 082 781 8498.
Arno Naude: assist@snakebiteassist.co.za or 083 739 9303.
Heidi Pfeifer: courses@snakebiteassist.co.za or 083 374 7087.
Mande Toubkin: mande.toubkin@netcare.co.za (National).
• Western Cape (also National or International)
Cape Town Poison Centre: 086 155 5777.
• Swaziland
Thea Litschka-Koen: tlitschka@rssc.co.sz or +26 87 602 5088.
Dr Jonathan Pons: jono@mabuda.com or +26 87 605 0680.
John Rathbone: john.rathbone2015@outlook.com or +26 87 644 5007.
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