NEW DELHI: India has declared snakebite a notifiable disease, which will help reduce the burden. The country contributes to nearly 50 per cent of global snakebite deaths and is considered the snakebite capital of the world.
In a letter to states and union territories dated November 27, Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava urged them “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, probably snakebite cases and deaths.”
Though the Union Health Ministry has made the declaration now, some states, like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have already taken steps by declaring snakebites as notifiable diseases.
The announcement has also come as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has set a goal to reduce global snakebite deaths and injuries by 50 per cent by 2030.
Hailing it as a “landmark development for public health", Dr Rahul Gajbhiye, Scientist E at Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR)-National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health (ICMR-NIRRCH), Mumbai, said "This will help India to do better monitoring, respond to, and mitigate the effects of snakebites, which have long posed a severe public health threat, especially in the tribal and rural areas."
“This will allow for accurate reporting of cases, improve access to anti-venom and emergency medical care, and enhance the overall response from both state and national healthcare systems,” he told this paper.
“This policy change enables health authorities to create better-reporting systems and launch targeted public health campaigns. This is most relevant for the marginalised communities that are affected disproportionately by the disease and still prefer traditional methods of management. The ultimate goal is to reduce the number of deaths and improve patient outcomes,” Dr Gajbhiye, who has been working on this serious public health problem for over a decade and is also the nodal head of Maharashtra's Model Rural Health Research Unit (MRHRU) in Vani district in Nashik.
Noting that India's decision to notify snakebite as a disease is a monumental step forward in recognising the accurate scale of this neglected health issue, Dr Smita Mahale, former director of ICMR-NIRRCH, under whom the institute took up snakebite research in 2014. She added “For decades, the burden of snakebite fatalities and injuries has remained hidden. With this declaration, we can ensure better surveillance, timely treatment, and ultimately, a reduction in preventable deaths.”
She further said that the institute initiated research on snakebite funded by ICMR’s tribal Health Research Forum, implemented through the Model Rural Health Research Unit (MRHRU), Dahanu, Palghar district of Maharashtra. Through training medical officers on snakebite envenoming management and active involvement of the community and traditional healers, we brought down the death rate by 90% in the region.
Seeing the potential in the Dahanu Model, as it is known today, the ICMR National Task Force on snakebite research in India up-scaled the project to the states of Maharashtra and Odisha through the ICMR National Snakebite Project (INSP).
Dr Gajbhiye, the principal investigator of the Dahanu snakebite project and the INSP, added, "With more than 50,000 deaths per year, India is dubbed the ‘snakebite capital of the world.’
The number of snakebite survivors who suffer permanent disabilities is at least 3-4 times higher than the number of deaths, he said.
“However, the true extent of the issue has been obscured by a lack of data, as snakebites often go unreported due to the absence of a systematic tracking mechanism. Making snakebite notifiable at the national level will be a milestone in snakebite control in India," said Dr Gajbhiye, who had presented the recommendation on snakebite notification to the expert committee meeting at NITI Aayog in May 2022 and also raised the issue while the draft of the recently launched The National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAP-SE) in India was being prepared, of which he was an expert member.
Dr Hrishikesh Munshi, a medical scientist at the institute and lead author of several publications on snakebite envenoming, said, "The primary benefit of notifying snakebites is the streamlining of the reporting system, leading to better resource management and even better preparedness.”
Added Dr Geetanjali Sachdeva, Director, ICMR-NIRRCH, the letter from the ministry underscores the commitment of the central government to tackle snakebite-related issues across the nation.
“It offers a clear mandate for action and empowers state governments to take ownership of the problem in a structured manner. This is a great opportunity to reshape the way India approaches snakebites," she said, adding that the institute has developed multi-lingual, culturally sensitive IEC material on snakebite prevention, diagnosis and management that is freely available.