India’s snakebite crisis is killing tens of thousands every year
Devendra, a farmer in India, still remembers the moment a snake sank its fangs into his leg while he was picking mulberry leaves.
“Four days after I was bitten, I went to the hospital when the pain became unbearable. But the delay cost me my leg,” he says in the short film released by the Global Snakebite Taskforce (GST), an initiative that tries to reduce deaths and injuries from snake bites.
But Devendra is still one of the lucky few who managed to survive. According to the federal government, approximately 50,000 Indians were killed due to snake bites each year – roughly half of all deaths worldwide. Some estimates suggest the death toll could be even higher: There may have been as many cases in India between 2000 and 2019. 1.2 million deathsAccording to a study conducted in 2020, an average of 58,000 per year.
Now, a new report by GST has revealed that 99% of healthcare workers in India are facing difficulties in administering antidote, life-saving antibodies that neutralize toxins in venom. Researchers surveyed 904 medical professionals in India, Brazil, Indonesia and Nigeria, the countries most affected by snake bites, and found similar barriers: poor infrastructure, limited access to antivenom and inadequate training.
Almost half of professionals reported that delays in treatment led to serious complications for their patients, such as amputation, surgery or lifelong mobility problems.
In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially defined snakebite envenomation or poisoning as “highest priority neglected tropical disease” due to the high number of deaths it causes. According to the World Health Organization, an estimated 5.4 million people worldwide Every year, more than 100,000 people are bitten by snakes and die annually.
It is also noted that snake bites disproportionately affect poor rural communities in low- and middle-income countries.
Devendra’s leg had to be amputated after he was bitten by a snake while collecting mulberry leaves [Strike Out Snakebite]
Dr., a member of GST and a practitioner from the central state of Chhattisgarh. Yogesh Jain says a high density of snakebite deaths and injuries has been reported in central and eastern parts of India. He adds that people working on farms, including those from poor tribal communities, are the most vulnerable.
In 2024, India launched the National Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Snakebite Poisoning (NAPSE). Halve snakebite deaths by 2030. The plan focuses on better surveillance, improved antidote availability and research, improved medical capacity and public awareness campaigns.
Experts agree it’s a step in the right direction, but implementation has been inconsistent.
“In India, snake bites are seen as a poor people’s problem,” says Jain. “That’s why there isn’t enough outrage or action about these completely preventable deaths. Every second counts when it comes to treating snakebites.”
He explains that snake venom enters the bloodstream within minutes and attacks nerves, cells or the circulatory system, depending on the species. Delays in antivenom administration may cause respiratory failure, stroke, irreversible tissue damage, or organ failure.
But delays in hospitalization are common in rural India, where poor roads, remote hospitals and a lack of ambulance services prevent timely treatment.
A pregnant woman in the state of Gujarat last September reported dead On the way to the hospital after his family had to carry him 5 km (3 miles) on a cloth sling because no vehicles could reach their village.
Jain says some states are trying to improve access by stocking antidotes at primary and community health centres. But managing this correctly remains a major challenge.
Many healthcare workers are not trained professionals, and patients are sometimes afraid to give antidotes because they may develop adverse reactions.
“The antidote is mixed with saline and injected intravenously over an hour, but most centers are not equipped to manage side effects,” says Jain.
Another problem is that many people in rural India still rely on healers or local medical practices and only go to hospitals when their symptoms worsen, which can be fatal.
Gerry Martin’s Liana Foundation researches antidotes to bites of regional snake species [The Liana Trust]
Another big hurdle is the availability of high-quality antivenom, says Gerry Martin, co-founder of the Liana Trust, which works to reduce human-snake conflict in the state of Karnataka.
Currently, antivenom is available in India that protects against only the “big four” snakes (spectacled cobra, common krait, Russell’s viper and saw-scaled viper), which are believed to be responsible for the majority of bites. Martin explains that the antivenom is produced by injecting venom from these snakes into horses, and the horses’ antibodies are then used as treatments for humans.
But there are dozens of other species of venomous snakes for which India has not targeted antivenom. These include the green pit viper, which is commonly found in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh, the Malabar pit viper and the hump-nosed pit viper, which are found in the southern states, and many other species in the northeastern states.
A. to work The problem was highlighted last year by Aiims (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) in Jodhpur, Rajasthan. The antivenom used to treat bites from saw-scaled vipers found that when administered to 105 snakebite patients (where the species was unknown), two-thirds did not respond well to treatment.
The study concluded that there was an urgent need for a “region-specific antidote in Western India”.
For the last five years the Liana Trust has been studying the venoms of species outside the big four to develop antidotes against them. But Martin says progress has been slow because the process is labor-intensive and time-consuming.
He called on states to emulate the 2024 decision of the state government in the south. karnataka The law made snakebites a “reportable disease” and made it mandatory for healthcare professionals to report the condition to authorities to combat underreporting.
Jain agrees. “Snakebite deaths begin where political will ends,” he says.
“Governments should ensure that poor people do not have poor healthcare systems. They deserve better.”
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