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Snakebite data in Tamil Nadu
December 2 , 2024
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- Snakebite is the “poor man’s disease” disproportionately affecting the country’s most vulnerable populations.
- Common krait, Indian cobra, Russell’s viper, and saw-scaled viper are collectively known as the “big four.”
- These snakes are responsible for approximately 90% of snakebite cases in India.
- Under the new regulation, all hospitals — public and private — are now required to report snakebite cases to the State health authorities.
- Till June this year, 7,300 snakebite cases were reported in Tamil Nadu and 13 people have died.
- The number was 19,795 cases with 43 deaths last year and 15,120 cases with 17 deaths in 2022.
- A study based on the Million Death Study (2001–2014) estimated that nearly 58,000 people die from snakebites each year — much higher than official figures reported by hospitals.
- Karnataka became the first State to declare snakebites a notifiable disease earlier this year
- Tamil Nadu also declared snakebite envenoming a notifiable disease under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act of 1939.
- The Indian government introduced the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE).
- Already WHO has launched a global strategy to control snakebite-induced deaths and disabilities.
- The national action plan aims to halve snakebite deaths by 2030 through a One Health approach.
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