New Delhi: India records the highest number of snakebite deaths in the world, with an estimated 58,000 fatalities each year, according to a new global report. The staggering toll is attributed to a combination of high snake population density, vast rural populations, and widespread dependence on traditional healers.
The report, titled “Time to Bite Back: Catalyzing a Global Response to Snakebite Envenoming”, was released at the 78th World Health Assembly in Geneva by the Global Snakebite Taskforce. The study, as cited by The New Indian Express on Thursday, paints a grim picture of the situation in India, where snakebites disproportionately affect poor and indigenous communities with limited access to timely and quality healthcare.
The report calls attention to the “devastating and preventable human toll of snakebite envenoming” and highlights key systemic issues: delays in seeking medical care due to reliance on traditional medicine, lack of quality control among some domestic antivenom producers, and high out-of-pocket costs in informal healthcare settings.
Although India has implemented a National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming, significant gaps remain, the report stated.
It urges stronger efforts toward meeting the World Health Organisation’s target of halving global deaths and disabilities from snakebite envenoming by 2030.
Dr Yogesh Jain, a public health physician and one of the authors of the report, emphasised the inadequacies of the Indian healthcare system in managing snakebite emergencies. “The healthcare system is simply not equipped to respond. Doctors often lack the training, tools, and confidence to treat cases effectively. Poverty compounds the problem. When care isn’t free or accessible, people turn to faith healers or other ineffective options,” TNIE quoted him as saying.
Dr Jain, who heads the community health initiative Jan Swasthya Sahyog in Chhattisgarh, also raised concerns about the limited efficacy of available treatments. He noted that even when patients do reach a clinic, the polyvalent antivenom available only covers a handful of the 35 venomous species and is effective in about 80 percent of cases.
In a move to improve surveillance and intervention, India last year classified snakebite as a notifiable disease. The country, which accounts for nearly half of the world’s snakebite deaths, has long been regarded as the global epicenter of the crisis.
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Bidar, July 26: The young woman who has accused BJP MLA Prabhu Chavan's son, Prateek Chavan, of cheating her with a false promise of marriage, has raised concerns over police inaction and sought the intervention of Karnataka Chief Minister.
Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, the Maharashtra-based woman alleged that despite filing a case days ago, Prateek has not been arrested. “I feel the police are not arresting him because he is the son of a powerful MLA. We are poor people and they are rich, so they are trying to crush us. The police have also filed a counter case against my family after I filed the complaint,” she said.
She urged Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah to personally intervene. “We request the Chief Minister to call us and discuss this issue. I want justice. The law should be the same for everyone, regardless of who they are,” the woman added.
The complaint was lodged in connection with alleged cheating under the pretext of marriage.