title: [Epidemiology of snakebites in Morocco].
abstract: This study was based on a retrospective descriptive analysis of all cases of snakebite recorded at the Poison Control and Pharmacovigilance Center of Morocco from 1980 to 2008. A total of 1,761 snakebites, i.e., 61 cases per year, were observed during the study period. Males accounted for 54.5% of victims (sex ratio (M/F) = 1.2) and 70% of cases occurred in rural areas. The average age of snakebite victims was 26.7 +/- 17.5 years. A seasonal snakebite peak was observed between May and August coinciding with the warmest period of the year, harvest time and snake migration. Sixty-two percent of patients presented clinical symptoms including respiratory, cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, neurological and mucocutaneous signs. The average fatality rate was 7.2% per year and the sequel rate was up to 1.04%. This study demonstrates that management of snakebite is problematic in Morocco. Morbidity was probably underestimated. Restricted access to antivenom is a major problem in rural areas where the population cannot afford the cost.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Génétique et Biométrie, Faculté des Sciences, Université Ibn Tofail, Kénitra, Maroc. hermannlallie@hotmail.com
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lallie
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hami
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Soulaymani
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Chafiq
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mokhtari
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Soulaymani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000818:Animals; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009018:Morocco / Q000453:epidemiology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D012621:Seasons; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012909:Snake Bites / Q000453:epidemiology*; D055815:Young Adult