GENEVA - The World Health Organization is launching a new website it hopes will cut the estimated 100,000 deaths from snake bites annually.
The U.N. health agency says the site contains a database of approved antivenoms to treat the 2.5 million people who suffer venomous bites each year.
WHO says antivenoms - antidotes developed from the venom itself - can prevent disability or death but many are inappropriate and have led to a loss of confidence among doctors and patients.
WHO's co-ordinator for medicine safety, Dr. Lembit Rago, says snake bites are a neglected public health issue in many tropical and subtropical countries.
He told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that most deaths and serious consequences from snake bites are preventable.
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WHO snake bite website: http://bit.ly/afzgEF
?? The Canadian Press, 2010