[Epidemiology and management of snakebites in the province of Bas-Congo (Democratic Republic of Congo)]. / Epidémiologie et prise en charge des morsures de serpent dans la province du Bas-Congo (République Démocratique du Congo).

A study on epidemiology and management of snakebites was performed in the province of Bas-Congo of the Democratic Republic of Congo. This province, located in the West of the RDC is divided into 31 health zones and several other secondary health structures. The study extended over a period going from 2000 to 2004 and was carried out simultaneously in the households and health centres or hospital complex of Kavwaya, Sonabata and Kasangulu regions. Researches involved the circumstances of snakebites, symptoms observed and treatment chosen by the patients. The following results were obtained:--In the health centres and hospital complexes, out of a total of 293 recorded cases, mortality rose to 10.2%.--In the surveyed households, 82 cases of snakebites were recorded with 5% deaths and 27% who chose traditional medicine.--The distribution of the cases according to age showed that the incidence of the bites was weak in childhood (15%); the sex ratio was reversed between the health structures and the household survey.

[Preliminary results of an herpetology investigation in sugar cane plantation in Democratic Republic of Congo]. / Résultats préliminaires d'une enquête herpétologique en plantation de cannes à sucre en République Démocratique du Congo.

Out of the 3,000 species of snakes described in the world, 163 are currently known from D.R. of Congo. We performed a systematic survey in sugar-cane plantations of the Sugar Company of Kwilu-Ngongo (Bas-Congo), located at 160 km South-West from Kinshasa and exploiting nearly 10,000 ha. The plantation is divided into 3 sectors in the middle of which we deposited barrels filled of formaldehyde. All the employees of the Sugar Company of Kwilu-Ngongo were requested to collect encountered snakes and put them in the nearest barrel. Between August 9th and September 21st, 2004, we collected 36 snakes in two different sites, revealing the presence of 3 families and 12 species. The most abundant species in Causus maculatus (47% in the first site--Point 8--and 29% in the second site--Point 13). The most poisonous and dangerous species were captured only in the first site--point 8, and were Dendroaspis jamesoni and Naja melanoleuca, both young.