South Sudan has begun testing a special application based on artificial intelligence to identify snakes and improve the effectiveness of treatment for their bites.
The goal is early rescue of victims and successful treatment of patients. Doctors Without Borders uses a database of 380,000 photographs of snakes to identify venomous species. According to the World Health Organization, snakebites affect up to 5.4 million people each year, with approximately 2.7 million becoming seriously ill and 138,000 dying from complications. Identification is a difficult but important part of treatment, ensuring that rare and expensive antibiotics are used only when needed. Dr Gabriel Alcoba, MSF's medical consultant on snakebites, says: quotes CNN Greece:
“The first results are encouraging: artificial intelligence recognizes snakes sometimes even better than experts. I remember a time when we used photo albums to identify snakes in MSF hospitals. Medical staff were reviewing photographs to determine which snake bit the patient.”
The app is being tested in two hospitals in South Sudanwhere a large number of people are hospitalized with snake bites. From January to the end of July 2024, more than 300 snakebite patients were treated in MSF health facilities across the country.
When someone is attacked by a snake, doctors recommend taking a photo of it immediately or carefully sending someone back to the scene to take a photo. The photos are fed into artificial intelligence software, which helps determine the type of snake and the type of treatment needed before the patient reaches the hospital. Alcoba says:
“Often, patients receive inappropriate treatment because the snake is misidentified, or non-venomous snake bites waste valuable antivenom, which can also cause serious side effects. The antidote is rare and extremely expensive, it can cost the patient a month or even a year's salary.”
David Williams, WHO snakebite expert, warns bites can cause respiratory arrest, as well as kidney failure, tissue damage and fatal bleeding.
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