Mapping Snakebite Risk in Ghana and Rwanda

NCT06808789 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 25-002
• Study Type: observational
• Target: 32,000
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

Snakebite causes approximately 138,000 deaths each year and non-fatal bites lead to considerable health burden, particularly in low-income tropical countries. Data on snakebite burden are lacking. Official data from health facilities are often either unavailable or underestimate cases, by excluding the many victims who do not attend formal health facilities; community surveys are useful for assessing burden, but they require significant resources to conduct. This study aims to understand both whether spatial analysis methods can help in assessing and predicting snakebite risk in different environments, and the value of current data collection methods for their contribution to this analysis approach. First, snakebite data already recorded in health facilities in Ghana and Rwanda will be extracted and analysed. Community surveys will be conducted in environmentally diverse areas of Ghana and Rwanda to collect information directly from randomly selected households about their experiences with snakebites. Using GPS to map household locations, geostatistical methods will be applied to the data to see if it can accurately predict areas at high risk of snakebite; the predictions will be used to generate risk maps. The study findings will build knowledge on geographical variation in snakebite risk and help develop an approach to mapping snakebite risk in sub-Saharan Africa. The risk maps generated will be compared with data on the distribution of antivenoms in each country. This will show if antivenoms are available in the places that need them most and help ensure antivenom supplies are better allocated in the future. It will also help identify high-risk areas so health officials can advocate for resources and develop treatment and prevention programmes.

Conditions

Snakebite; Snake Envenomation

Keywords

snakebite; risk mapping; model-based geostatistics; snake envenomation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Number of people who have ever had a snakebite

  Participant's lifetime history of one or more snakebites

  1 year

• Number of participants who have ever had a snakebite

  Participant's lifetime history of one or more snakebites

  1 year

Eligibility Criteria

• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Child (0-17), Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)
• Sampling Method: Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population comprises all residents in Ghana and Rwanda who are at risk of snakebite.

You may qualify if:

• Household Screening Questionnaire:
• o Heads of household from all selected households will be invited to participate, regardless of age or sex. If the head of household is absent, another adult from the household who can report on behalf of all household members will be invited to be interviewed.
• Snakebite Details Questionnaire:
• All household members identified with a history of snakebite will be invited to complete this questionnaire, with the assistance/in the presence of a responsible adult if the participant is a minor. If the household member is deceased, a responsible adult from the household will be asked to complete the questionnaire as far as possible.

You may not qualify if:

• Household Screening Questionnaire
• Households where the household head/a responsible adult is not present at first visit or revisit.
• Households where the household head/responsible adult is unable or unwilling to give consent.
• Snakebite Details Questionnaire
• Where the snakebite victim is an adult and is present: the victim is unwilling to participate
• Where the snakebite victim is an adult and is not present: there is no responsible adult who is able to complete the questionnaire on the behalf of the victim
• Where the snakebite victim is a minor: there is no responsible adult who is able or willing to provide consent to be interviewed or support the child to complete the questionnaire.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine: lead
• Kumasi Centre for Collaborative Research (KCCR): collaborator

Related Publications (21)

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MeSH Terms

Conditions

Snake Bites

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Bites and Stings; Poisoning; Chemically-Induced Disorders; Wounds and Injuries

Study Officials

• Robert Asampong

  Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Robert Asampong

CONTACT

+233243645429; robert.asampong@lstmed.ac.uk

Leslie Mawuli Aglanu

CONTACT

+233209387788

Study Design

• Study Type: observational
• Observational Model: OTHER
• Time Perspective: CROSS SECTIONAL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: January 23, 2025
• First Posted: February 5, 2025
• Study Start: November 1, 2025
• Primary Completion: April 1, 2026
• Study Completion: April 1, 2026
• Last Updated: November 19, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-11