Hospital admissions due to snake envenomation in the Republic of Cyprus: a 7-year retrospective review

Abstract

Background Snake envenomation is a major neglected tropical disease, lacking data in many countries including Cyprus, a Mediterranean island inhabited by the medically important blunt-nosed viper (Macrovipera lebetina). Reviewing the 2013–2019 period, we present first-time epidemiological snakebite data in the Republic of Cyprus. Methods We obtained data on snake envenomation-related hospital admissions from the Ministry of Health, and population and rainfall data from the Statistical Service of Cyprus and Department of Meteorology websites. Human-viper conflict information was acquired from interviews with 12 representatives of Cypriot institutions. Results Between 2013 and 2019, 288 snake envenomation cases were admitted to public hospitals, averaging 41 people annually. The minimum was 29 cases (2017) and the maximum was 58 (2015). Snake envenomation incidence increased from 4.55 per 100,000 population (2013) to 6.84 (2015), but remained low since 2017 (3.49 in 2019). Between 2000 and 2018, the deaths of one man (73 years), and indirectly, one woman (77 years), were related to snake envenomation. While 266 cases (92%) happened between April and October (the blunt-nosed viper activity period), most envenomations occurred in September (cumulative for 2013–2019), with 88 cases (31%). Snakebite incidence peaked in the 60–69 years age group (9.19 per 100,000 population), and was higher in males (6.85) than in females (2.82). Of all admitted patients, 242 (84%) were discharged within 4 days. Mean hospital stay duration was 2.65 days, with one case of 13 days. Most patients were admitted to the general hospitals in Paphos (51%), Limassol (30%) and Nicosia (11%), which provide secondary healthcare, with the last one providing tertiary healthcare. Conclusions Snakebite-related deaths are very rare in the Republic of Cyprus. Most envenomation cases happened in late summer (September). Short hospital stays indicate mostly non-severe clinical courses. The hospital admission data suggest that snake envenomation risk is highest in Paphos district. The statistical data hint at males and middle- to older-aged people being at highest risk, whereas from our interview data we assume that outdoor workers are at higher risk than other occupational groups.

Venomics and Peptidomics of Palearctic vipers: Clade-wide analysis of seven taxa of the generaVipera,Montivipera,MacroviperaandDaboiaacross Türkiye

“…On the clinical side, it is therefore to be expected that the symptoms across the investigated M. lebetinus ssp. localities might be similar with effects on hypotension, hemorrhage and strong cytotoxicity leading to necrosis 134,135 . On the other side, the geographic distribution of Macrovipera is large and includes an array of environments, so it is difficult or even impossible to predict venom variation, equal to the earlier mentioned V. berus .…”

Venomics and Peptidomics of Palearctic Vipers: A Clade-Wide Analysis of Seven Taxa of the Genera Vipera, Montivipera, Macrovipera, and Daboia across Türkiye

“…lebetinus ssp. localities might be similar to effects on hypotension, hemorrhage and strong cytotoxicity leading to necrosis. , On the other side, the geographic distribution of Macrovipera is large and includes an array of environments, so it is difficult or even impossible to predict venom variation, equal to the earlier mentioned V. berus.…”

Venomics of the milos viper (Macrovipera schweizeri) unveils patterns of venom composition and exochemistry across blunt-nosed viper venoms

“…Indeed, pit vipers (subfamily Crotalinae) are the main cause of snakebite-related morbidity and mortality in the Neotropics ( Gutiérrez, 2014 ; da Silva et al, 2019 ), while true vipers (subfamily Viperinae) are snakes of high medical importance in Africa, Asia and Europe ( WHO, 2020 ). For instance, envenomations caused by blunt-nosed vipers (genus Macrovipera ) are known to cause considerably severe, potentially lethal clinical manifestations in the Near and Middle East ( Warrell, 2008 ; Amr et al, 2020 ; Dehghani et al, 2023 ), and are considered medically important also in Europe ( Jestrzemski et al, 2022 ; Paolino et al, 2023 ).…”