Snakebite Declared a Notifiable Disease: A Milestone in Public Health Policy

Sub : Sci

Sec: Health

Why in News

India has declared snakebite a notifiable disease, aligning with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) global goal to reduce snakebite deaths and injuries by 50% by 2030. This step is expected to improve monitoring, access to anti-venom, and emergency care, especially in rural and tribal areas, addressing a major public health concern.

About Snakebite Envenoming:

Snakebite envenoming is a potentially life-threatening disease following the bite of a venomous snake.
In India, around 50,000 deaths occur of an estimated 3-4 million snake bites annually which accounts for half of all snakebite deaths globally.
As per the Central Bureau of Health Investigation (CBHI) reports (2016-2020), the average annual frequency of snakebite cases in India is around 3 lakhs and about 2000 deaths occur due to snakebite envenoming.
In India, around 90% of snake bites are caused by the ‘big four’ among the crawlers – common krait, Indian cobra, Russell’s viper and saw scaled viper.
Administration of polyvalent anti-snake venom (ASV) containing antibodies against cobra, Russell’s viper, common krait and saw scaled viper is effective in 80% of the snakebite cases, however, lack of trained human resources and health facilities to treat snakebite patients remains a cause of concern.

What makes snakebite a neglected tropical disease (NTD):

There are four primary criteria that define an illness as a neglected tropical disease (NTD), and snakebite envenoming satisfies each of them:
First, there is a significant burden of mortality and morbidity (as detailed in the answer to question 1) – snakebite envenoming is a high-impact disease.
Secondly, a majority of incidents of snakebite occur in the world’s tropical and subtropical regions, and it particularly impacts the poor – snakebite is a tropical disease.
Thirdly, snakebite is amenable to treatment, as well as prevention – the impact of snakebite can be mitigated now if we make the effort to do so.

The National Action Plan for Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE):

Vision: “To prevent and control snakebite envenoming in order to halve the numbers of deaths and cases of disability that it causes by 2030”.
Mission: To progressively reduce the morbidity, mortality and its associated complications in humans due to Snake bite.
The National Action Plan for Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE) provides a broad framework for management, prevention and control of Snake bite envenoming in India.
The activities of human health component are already being implemented under snakebite prevention and control through the State and District Nodal Officer (SNO & DNO) under National Health Mission.
Surveillance is a key element in NAPSE so that problems can be easily identified, and actions could be undertaken in a timely manner.