Centre requests states to declare snakebite cases as 'notifiable disease'

New Delhi: The Centre has urged all the states to declare snakebites as a "notifiable disease", making it mandatory for all health facilities to report such cases and deaths.

Snakebites are an issue of public health concern and in certain cases, cause mortality, morbidity and disability, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava has said in a letter sent to all the states and Union territories.

The states have been requested by the Centre to declare snakebites as a "notifiable disease" under the relevant provisions of the states' public health laws or other applicable legislation, making it mandatory for all government and private health facilities (including medical colleges) to report every suspected, probable snakebite case and death.

The farmers and the tribal population, among others, are at higher risk, the letter has pointed out.

In order to address the issue of snakebite, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MohFW) has launched the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE) from India by 2030" in consultation with the relevant ministries and stakeholders, Srivastava has mentioned in the letter.

The objective of the action plan is to halve snakebite-related deaths in the country by 2030, she has underlined.

The plan has defined strategic components, roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders involved in snakebite management, control and prevention.

One of the key objectives under the NAPSE is to strengthen the surveillance of snakebite cases and deaths.

"A robust surveillance system is essential for accurately tracking snakebite incidents and deaths, which will provide valuable data to inform and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions," Srivastava has said in the letter dated November 27.

Therefore, a mandatory notification of all snakebite cases and deaths is required to strengthen snakebite surveillance, she has emphasised.

It will help the stakeholders gauge the accurate burden, high-risk areas, factors responsible for deaths of snakebite victims etc., resulting in improved clinical management of snakebite victims.

Further, notifying snakebite cases and deaths will also improve reporting from private health facilities, Srivastava has said.

"You are requested to make snakebite cases and deaths a 'notifiable disease' under the relevant provisions under the State Public Health Act or other applicable legislation, making it mandatory for all government and private health facilities (including medical colleges) to report all suspected, probable snakebite cases and deaths in the enclosed format," she has said in the letter.

According to the World Health Organization's (WHO) data, global snakebite incidences stand at around 54 lakh, with about 18 lakh to 27 lakh accounting for snake envenoming.

Asia alone reports around 20 lakh snakebite envenoming cases every year. Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka together account for nearly 70 per cent of global snakebite mortality, the data said.

In India, approximately 50,000 fatalities result from an estimated 30 lakh to 40 lakh snakebites each year, representing roughly half of all global snakebite-related deaths.

Only a small proportion of snakebite victims across countries report to clinics and hospitals and the actual burden of snake bite is grossly under-reported. According to the Central Bureau of Health Investigation (CBHI) reports (2016-2020), the average annual frequency of snakebite cases in India is around three lakh and about 2,000 deaths occur due to snakebite envenoming.