Category Archives: Uncategorized
Snakebite hungered my family in Malawi and lead me to act
Written on September 16, 2021 at 6:24 pm, by James Reid
Growing up in rural areas of Northern Malawi, farming had been a daily activity. I and my family had been used to wake up early in the morning around 4 a.m. to tend to our farm. During the preparation of the 2002-2003 growing season, one morning in November 2002 with no moonlight, we went to Continue Reading »
A 2004 conference in Brazil changed my focus and realized a childhood passion
Written on September 13, 2021 at 8:10 pm, by James Reid
I was born in Valencia, a city on the Spanish Mediterranean coast. From childhood I developed a vocation to know the nature, in particular the fauna, of my environment. During the three months of summer vacations, which I spent with my brothers and cousins half naked and feral among the orange trees of our grandmother’s Continue Reading »
Clinical management of snakebite starts with understanding the patients point of view
Written on September 13, 2021 at 6:45 pm, by James Reid
My journey with snakebite victims began with my MD dissertation where I explored the question of adrenal hormone deficiency after Russell’s viper bites in Southern India. Not only was I intrigued by how each envenoming played out like a new episode in a thriller drama where the difference in the amount and nature of venom, Continue Reading »
The complexity of the snakebite crisis in India became clear when my phone rang
Written on September 10, 2021 at 5:11 am, by James Reid
I started off as an excited kid with lots of questions about snakes, while trying to understand why people kill them on sight. As I grew up, oblivious about the pain and suffering, the internet first arrived in the villages of West Bengal around 1998. Of course, frustratingly slow. As I started reading the occasional Continue Reading »
Conservation is not possible without mitigating the conflict in rural India
Written on September 10, 2021 at 4:53 am, by James Reid
I am an executive member at Society for Nature Conservation, Research and Community Engagement – (CONCERN) and at the same time pursuing a PhD from Annamalai University. My first grant on snakebite research and mitigation is the grant from the Hamish Ogston Foundation in partnership with the Global Snakebite Initiative. My project is focused on Continue Reading »
Following my passion and living my dream in rural Zambia
Written on September 10, 2021 at 4:13 am, by James Reid
My mission is to protect snake populations in Zambia through education and community outreach, and to create a harmonious relationship between humans and snakes. As a culture deeply rooted in religion, we in Zambia are raised to fear and often revile snakes. This unfortunately results in many trying to kill what they misunderstand. And this Continue Reading »
Save the lives: snakebite management in Nepal
Written on September 9, 2021 at 5:48 pm, by James Reid
I am a Kamal Devkota and I am leading research works, capacity building training and workshops related to snakes, snakebites and snake conservation in different districts of Nepal. WHO estimated around 20,000 people suffer from snakebites causing 1,000 deaths per annum in Nepal. Most of the people fear snakes and I was also one of Continue Reading »
Witnessing snakebite firsthand compelled me to act
Written on September 9, 2021 at 5:07 pm, by James Reid
I first got drawn into the world of snakebite and antivenom during a short internship at the World Health Organisation involving research in antivenom manufacturing and a field trip to Kaltungo, Nigeria. Seeing the plight of snakebite victims first-hand, and coming to understand the many factors that conspire to make this one of the most significant Continue Reading »
Snakebite deaths and disability in my family called me to action
Written on September 9, 2021 at 4:46 pm, by James Reid
I am a global health researcher from Ghana and the principal investigator of the Hamish Ogston Foundation and Global Snakebite Initiative 2020 Education small snakebite grant project, titled “Community Engagement in the Prevention and Control of Snakbite in the Ahafo Region of Ghana”. my motivation and interest in addressing the snakebite canker stemmed from the Continue Reading »
A career of distinction
Written on September 9, 2021 at 1:22 am, by James Reid
I became interested in snakes, venoms, antivenoms and snakebite envenoming as an undergraduate student in Microbiology at the University of Costa Rica, back in 1975, when I started working as a research assistant at Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP). Soon I realized how fascinating are snakes and their venoms and how profound is the impact in Continue Reading »