I wondered about this as well. There’s no doubt that it would reduce snakebites, but whether it’s cost-effective is more difficult to tell.
An analyst I spoke to pointed out to me that after all it’s still pretty rare to be bitten by a snake. The amount of footwear you’d need to distribute per snakebite prevented is pretty high, and likely pretty expensive.
I suspect it would be easier to convince people who HAVE been bitten by a snake to go to the hospital than it will be to convince people who have not yet been bitten by a snake to constantly wear some kind of protective wraparound shinguards every time they’re on the farm. The daily inconvenience level seems high for such a rare event. Even malaria nets are often not used for their intended purpose once distributed, and they seem to me like less of an inconvenience.
What about something they can wear on their leg to prevent the snakebite?
I wondered about this as well. There’s no doubt that it would reduce snakebites, but whether it’s cost-effective is more difficult to tell.
An analyst I spoke to pointed out to me that after all it’s still pretty rare to be bitten by a snake. The amount of footwear you’d need to distribute per snakebite prevented is pretty high, and likely pretty expensive.
That makes sense! Shoes are probably more expensive than malaria nets.
But it might still be a better intervention point than antivenom+improving diagnosis+increasing people’s willingness to go to the hospital.
I suspect it would be easier to convince people who HAVE been bitten by a snake to go to the hospital than it will be to convince people who have not yet been bitten by a snake to constantly wear some kind of protective wraparound shinguards every time they’re on the farm. The daily inconvenience level seems high for such a rare event. Even malaria nets are often not used for their intended purpose once distributed, and they seem to me like less of an inconvenience.
@Peter S. Park @MathiasKB @AndrewDoris
rather than armoring where you’re bit, less costly / inconvenient preventing bites in the first place by emitting odor / noise / light to ward off predators. Odor seems most promising for snakes according to https://www.callnorthwest.com/2019/04/home-remedies-to-keep-snakes-away/
Maybe more than superstition to carry around smelly garlic / onions :)