New Delhi, November 29 (IANS) Public health concerns due to snake bites are increasing rapidly. In this regard, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has declared snake bite cases and deaths due to it in India as a “notifiable disease”.
According to ministry data, 3-4 million people are bitten by snakes every year in India. Of these, approximately 50,000 people die. This accounts for half of snakebite deaths globally. However, these cases are rarely reported.
Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava, in a letter to health secretaries of all states and Union Territories (UTs), said, “Snake bites are a matter of public health concern and in some cases, it causes death, illness and disability. Farmers, tribal population etc. are at higher risk. You are requested to declare snakebite cases and deaths as ‘notifiable diseases’ under the relevant provisions of the State Public Health Act or other applicable law. Disease) should be made.
The letter urges all government and private health facilities (including medical colleges) to make it mandatory to report all suspected probable snakebite cases and deaths in the attached format.
Common krait, Indian cobra, Russell’s viper and saw-scaled viper are responsible for about 90 percent of snake bite cases in the country.
Although ‘Polyvalent Anti-Snake Venom’ is effective against these four in 80 per cent of cases, the lack of trained human resources and health facilities to treat snakebite patients remains a matter of concern.
Other major barriers are lack of data on morbidity, mortality, socio-economic burden, treatment patterns, etc.
In March, the Ministry of Family Welfare had launched the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebites to tackle the problem of snakebites.
Srivastava said the action plan aims to “halve snakebite-related deaths by 2030”.
The plan includes defined strategies, roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in snakebite management, control and prevention.
One of the major objectives of NAPSE is to promote surveillance of snakebite cases and deaths in the country.
Srivastava called for developing a strong surveillance system to keep an accurate eye on snake bite incidents and deaths.
–IANS
MKS/AS
