Venomous Snake Bites in Japan

Few reliable data are available on the incidence of snake bites in developing and developed nations. Insufficient epidemiologic data have hindered the recognition of snake bite as an important public health issue. We verified statistics of snake bites (mamushi and habu bites) in Japan by using a currently available, nationally representative, hospital-based database. We identified 1,670 inpatients with snake bites from 404 hospitals during July 1-December 31 in 2007 and 2008. More than 60% were males, the average age was 60.1 years, and the in-hospital mortality rate was 0.2%. The incidence of mamushi bite, distributed between latitudes 30°N and 46°N, was estimated to be 1.67 bites/100,000/6 months. It is important to continue collecting all available data to monitor the trends of this life-threatening disease.