Centre declares snakebites a notifiable disease in India

Even as snakebites are raising public health concerns the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare MoHFW has declared snakebite cases and deaths a ldquonotifiable diseaserdquo in IndiaAs per data from the Ministry around 50000 deaths in India occur due to an estimated 34 million snakebites annually This accounts for half of all snakebite deaths globally However the cases are grossly underreportedldquoSnakebites are an issue of public health concern and in certain cases they cause mortality morbidity and disability Farmers tribal population etc are at higher riskrdquo said Union Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava in a letter addressed to the Secretaries of Health of all States and Union Territories UTsldquoYou are requested to make snakebite cases and deaths a lsquoNotifiable Diseasersquo under the relevant provisions under the State Public Health Act or other applicable legislationrdquoThe letter urged all government and private health facilities including medical colleges to ldquomake it mandatory to report all suspected probable snakebite cases and deaths in the enclosed formatrdquo read the letterThe common krait Indian cobra Russells viper and sawscaled viper are responsible for about 90 per cent of snakebites in the countryWhile polyvalent antisnake venom ASV with antibodies against these four is effective in 80 per cent of cases the lack of trained human resources and health facilities to treat snakebite patients remains a cause of concernOther major hindrances are the lack of data on incidence morbidity mortality socioeconomic burden treatment patterns etcIn March MoFHW launched the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming NAPSE to address the issue of snakebiteThe action plan aims to ldquohalve the snakebiterelated deaths by the year 2030rdquo Srivastava saidThe plan carries defined strategic components roles and responsibilities of stakeholders involved in snakebite management control and preventionA key objective of NAPSE is to boost the surveillance of snakebite cases and deaths in the countrySrivastava called for developing a ldquorobust surveillance system for accurately tracking snakebite incidents and deathsrdquo This will provide valuable data to inform and evaluate the effectiveness of interventionsIt will also help the stakeholders understand accurate burden highrisk areas factors responsible for deaths of snakebite victims which in return would result in the improved clinical management of victims Srivastava saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever