Anticipating the rise in the number of snake bite cases with the advent of monsoon, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is soon going to roll out a series of educational materials in Hindi, English and Odiya for medical officers in the community and public health centres.
The educational material for health workers will also be published in other regional languages, especially those of the states where snake bite cases are rampant. The idea to come out with these educational materials was also to assist ASHA (accredited social health activists) workers, Auxiliary nurse Midwives (AnM) and other health workers to identify snake bites early, provide effective first aid, and timely referrals to the nearest healthcare facility.
The material has been jointly prepared by the ICMR-NIRRH (national institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health), Mumbai. The booklet has pictorial depictions of the commonly found snake species, signs and symptoms of snake bite envenomation. it also outlines the first aid treatment and preventive measures.
“We hope this material will help in high-burden areas across India and will prove effective in reducing deaths and disabilities associated with snake bite envenomation,” said Dr Rahul K gajbhiye, head of the clinical Research Department ICMR-NIRRH.
“As part of our national snakebite implementation project, we developed medical officers’ flow chart for snake bite treatment. Medical officers in primary health centres and community health centres should be able to treat snake bite cases using the document,” gajbhiye said, “there was a lack of appropriate informational material on snake bite and training manual for AnMs and ASHA workers.”
The educational material would be shared with the health workers as they are the first ones to get in contact with the victims. As most of them are unaware of the treatment, the chances of death increase.
Eight states, namely Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, saw about 70% of snake bite deaths from 2001 to 2014.
India contributes an average of 58,000 deaths annually. India is one of the world’s most affected countries due to the large population engaged in agricultural activities.
It is estimated that india had 1.2 million snakebite deaths (average 58,000/year) from 2000 to 2019, an increase of about 8000 cases per year