Health Ministry Declares Snakebites Notifiable to Save Lives and Improve Tracking
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has recognized snakebites as a major health issue in India, classifying them as a “notifiable disease” to better address the problem.
Statistics from the Ministry reveal that India sees around 50,000 snakebite-related deaths annually, out of an estimated 3-4 million cases. This figure represents nearly half of the global fatalities caused by snakebites. However, many cases remain significantly underreported.
In a letter to the Health Secretaries of States and Union Territories, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava emphasized the significant toll snakebites take on public health. “Snakebites are a major public health issue. They can result in death, long-term disability, and other complications. Groups like farmers and tribal communities are particularly at risk,” she wrote.
The Ministry has urged states and UTs to officially classify snakebite cases and deaths as a “notifiable disease” under their respective Public Health Acts or other relevant laws. The move aims to improve tracking and ensure better prevention and treatment efforts across the country.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has instructed all government and private healthcare facilities, including medical colleges, to make reporting snakebite cases and deaths mandatory. A standardized format for this reporting has been provided to ensure consistency.
In India, almost 90% of snakebites are attributed to the country’s deadliest snakes, including the common krait, Indian cobra, Russell’s viper, and saw-scaled viper.
Although polyvalent anti-snake venom (ASV), which targets these four species, proves effective in about 80% of cases, challenges remain. A significant issue is the shortage of trained healthcare professionals and adequate facilities to treat snakebite patients.
Other obstacles include a lack of reliable data on the frequency of snakebites, their health impacts, associated deaths, economic consequences, and treatment practices.
To tackle these issues, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) introduced the National Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE) earlier this year. This initiative aims to improve prevention, treatment, and reporting of snakebite cases across the country.
The National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE) aims to reduce snakebite-related deaths by 50% by 2030, according to Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava.
The plan outlines clear strategies and assigns specific roles and responsibilities to all stakeholders involved in managing, preventing, and controlling snakebites.
One of the primary goals of NAPSE is to enhance the monitoring of snakebite cases and deaths across India. Srivastava emphasized the need to build a reliable surveillance system to track these incidents accurately. This system will generate critical data to assess the impact of current measures and identify areas needing improvement.
The collected data will also help pinpoint the true extent of the problem, high-risk regions, and factors contributing to snakebite fatalities. These insights will pave the way for better treatment protocols and improved outcomes for snakebite victims, Srivastava noted.
