Snakebite Research
“ A disease whose time has come” - World Health Organisation
A young Vietnamese girl admitted to ICU for snake bite
In June 2017, the WHO placed Snakebite on its list of Neglected Tropical Diseases and has estimated that snakebite causes between 81,000 to 138,000 deaths a year. Furthermore, approximately 400,000 people suffer life-altering injuries from snakebite i.e. loss of a limb. This has even greater impact when considering that the majority of people affected are from the impoverished rural communities where an inability to work has a devastating impact on the family and local community.
In 2019, the WHO published Snakebite Envenoming : A strategy for prevention and control. The objective is to reduce the number of deaths and disability attributable to snakebite by 50% by 2030.
Covid-19 and Foundation-sponsored snakebite research update
Hamish Ogston Foundation Response
Supporting research on the production of safe and effective antivenoms.
Funding a research fellowship in Myanmar, investigating the optimum antivenom dose for Russell’s viper.
Small education grants to encourage young researchers and clinicians with an interest in snakebite.
Sole sponsorship of the annual Oxford Venoms and Toxins and Venoms conference.
Credit: Lillian Lincoln Foundation
Oxford Venoms & Toxins Conference 2019
Supporting Research on the Production of a Safe and Effective Antivenom.
Under the leadership of Professor David Warrell, Emeritus Professor of Tropical Medicine at Oxford University and a leading authority on the treatment of snakebite, the Hamish Ogston Foundation has offered funding for antivenom research to be established in three centres at present:
India: Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu
Myanmar: Myanmar Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (MOCRU)
Vietnam: Cho Ray Hospital, Ho Chi Minh City
The global oversight of snakebite treatment and research is examined further by Professor Warrell and his Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene blog.
An account of the visit by Dr. Michael Vaughan and Professor Warrell to India, Myanmar and Vietnam in 2019 here.
Establishment of the Hamish Ogston Foundation Fellowship
The Hamish Ogston Foundation has welcomed the appointment of the inaugural fellow Dr. Thomas Lamb, whose remit is to determine the optimum dosage of antivenom for the Russell’s Viper. Dr. Lamb will manage an antivenom study in Myanmar as part of MOCRU.
Find out more on the recent work of Dr Lamb here.
HOF-GSI Small Grant Scheme
