Puri :
International World Snakebite Awareness Day is observed on September 19 every year.
World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said that one person dies from a snakebite every four to six minutes, and more than a third of all victims are under 20 years old.
“While venomous snakes are broadly distributed in both tropical and temperate regions of the world, ranging from tropical rainforests to arid deserts and even the icy tundra above the arctic circle, the highest impact on public health occurs in low- and middle-income nations in tropical and sub-tropical environments,” David Williams, WHO expert on snakes and snakebites, told a UN briefing in Geneva.
His remarks came ahead of International Snakebite Awareness Day, which is observed every Sept. 19.
According to the expert, 1.8-2.7 million cases of snakebite occur each year, resulting in some 81,000-138,000 deaths.
Most snakebites occur in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, Williams said, while an estimated 1.2 million people died from snakebites in India alone in 2000-2019 – an average of 58,000 annually.
He stressed that not all snakebites cause deaths, but for every person who dies, three more are left with “long-term or permanent disabilities” such as debilitating physical scarring or even amputation.
On addressing this threat, he said the areas most affected by snakebites have little to no access to adequate treatments.
“Anti-venoms, the most effective treatments currently available, are in critically short supply in many of the worst-affected regions of the world, with one study estimating that sub-Saharan Africa had access to less than 3% of annual needs,” he said.
He also drew attention to the potential impact of climate change on venomous snake populations, distribution, and human contact.
Climate change could expand the range and abundance of venomous snakes, potentially forcing some species into new environments where they will come into contact with people who have not encountered them before, he warned.
Just few year before, 18 old boy, gets bitten in the remote village of Gumte in Arunachal Pradesh in the evening while returning home through the jungle.
He complains of severe pain on the bitten hand which starts swelling in no time. His mother rushes him to the nearby primary health centre, where there are no health staff available.
His mother takes him to a traditional healer nearby who incises the wound with a used blade in spite of the excruciating pain the boy is in and then applies a snake stone, which the healer believes sucks the venom out of the body.
The boy slowly starts becoming unresponsive showing signs of respiratory distress and is then hurried to the community health centre at Pakke Kessang at a distance of 30 km, but reaches there unresponsive and is declared dead on arrival.
India has the dubious distinction of accounting for half the number of bites, approximately two million and 58,000 deaths annually. Over 70 per cent of SBE occurs in males, typically in the productive ages of between 20 and 60 years and therefore having a tremendous socio-economic impact especially in case of death of the sole earning member of the family.
Doctors say the reasons for the neglect are many, including general lack of awareness with regards to snakebite among healthcare workers, community, etc.; the available polyvalent anti-snake venom not having the neutralising effect against snake species of the northeast of India; victims in remote villages depending on traditional healers for treatment; and absence of a national protocol for treatment.
All these factors alongside the general apathy shown towards SBE by health policy makers, pharmaceutical industry, funding agencies and the health system in general, in spite of the considerable social ramifications is contributory.
The issues highlighted are more pronounced in the northeast as snake species here differ considerably from the rest of India and the effect of anti-snake venom against the common envenoming species like naja kaouthia (monocellate cobra) and pit viper species is doubtful.
In order to be able to prevent death and complications awareness need be created in the community about snakebite, how it could be prevented, the first-aid measures and the value of anti-snake venom as the only available treatment for envenoming.
The awareness campaign need percolate down into the community through schoolchildren, ASHA workers, etc.
Doctors need be trained on the immediate first-aid measures, signs and symptoms of envenoming, dosage of anti-snake venom and the pre-medications and complications.
In order to address this neglect and inequity, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) constituted a national task force for the study of incidence, morbidity, mortality and the socio-economic burden of snakebite in India.
The task force comprises Jaideep C. Menon, a cardiologist with the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences in Kochi, Omesh K. Bharti, State Epidemiological Officer with Himachal Pradesh government and Santanu K. Sharma, Scientist G with Regional Medical Research Centre at Dibrugarh.
They are currently conducting a field trip for situational analysis in the four northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura.
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