India continues to be fanged by poisonous snakes, killing thousands every year

India has the highest snakebite mortality in the world, says the World Health Organisation (WHO), accounting for nearly half of the deaths globally.

A study published in Nature communications cites India’s agrarian structure to increase the risk of human-snake conflict. 

As per the study, about 7,094 snakebites were recorded in a year, though the number of cases remain underrepresented.

In 2017, the WHO had officially recognised snakebite envenomation (SBE) as a neglected tropical disease, causing deaths, amputation and other permanent disabilities.

Among the four venomous crawlers that bite Indians are common krait, Indian cobra, Russell’s viper and saw-scaled viper.

As per reports, there are many other notorious, venomous forms which are not been taken into consideration.

What did the study find?

The survey studying the socio-economic burden of snakebites in India collected data from 25 districts across 11 states, covering a 60 million population. 

The survey team collected data on the type of snake, details of the bite, the treatment received and the cost of treatment.

The following were some observations made by the survey:

• Half of the snakebite deaths happened outside hospitals.

• Bites were more common among males (64.1 percent) between the ages 30-39 (20.9 percent).

• Bites occurred during the rainy season (62.1 percent).

• Most victims took care from hospitals (86.4 percent)

• More than half of the subjects received anti-venom (60.2 percent)

• Some experienced side effects from the anti-venom (17.2 percent).

The survey also reported that snakebites placed heavy financial burdens on the family, with the treatment costing up to to Rs 6,500 on an average or even higher in private medical facilities.

Snakebite as a poor man’s disease

The study found that almost half of the snake bitten victims (47.5 percent) were from families below the poverty line.

The areas with highest number of snakebites include Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Bihar.

Among the people affected are those working outdoors, especially farms or those from poor communities, living in snake-prone areas. 

With snakebite envenomation considered a medical emergency, delay in the treatment can lead to long term impairment or death.

The common obstacles which come in the way of prompt treatment are lack of access to antivenom or the costly treatment. Some people may seek help from non-medical sources, not reporting the bite to the authorities.

Another study by AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan found that the standard antivenom was not able to completely neutralise the venom infected by the saw-scaled viper. The victims who had reached the hospital on time continued to experience long term effects in weeks later.

In some cases, there are side effects or complications with the anti-venom injections which have to be treated promptly, hence, preparedness becomes an important factor in survival.

The government has launched a National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snake Envenomation (NAPSE) which aims to halve snakebite deaths by 2030.