The Greater Black Krait (Bungarus niger) in Bangladesh: ecology, epidemiology and management of envenoming bites. (360G-Wellcome-079027_Z_06_Z)

Key Goals: 1) To determine the medical importance of B. niger in Chittagong District, Bangladesh. 2) To define the clinical features of envenoming by this species. 3) To modify guidelines for clinical management.Research: A survey of snakebite in Chittagong District showed that more than 300 of 800 documented bites resulted in severe envenoming. In approximately 10% of cases, all with severe neurotoxic envenoming, the biting species remained unknown after immunodiagnosis. In five cases the snakes responsible for the bites had been killed and brought to the clinic. Based on morphological and DNA evidence from the five snakes, we suspect that the biting species in this series was B. niger, a snake never previously reported in Bangladesh. We will collect specimens of B. niger in Chittagong District, using molecular and morphological methods to confirm species identity and to validate diagnostic features. Venom will be collected to characterise its biological activity and neutralization by polyvalent antivenoms, and to raise high-titre antisera for the detection of venom in the blood of victims of undiagnosed neurotoxic snake bite. We will analyze geographical information, behavioural, ecological, and socioeconomic parameters to estimate the distribution of this species, and to identify the human population at risk. Based on these data, we will generate avoidance guidelines for local people, and protocols for the long-term captive husbandry of B. niger, to facilitate sustainable venom collection and specific antivenom production.