Tamil Nadu declares snake bite a notifiable disease for improved prevention, treatment
Chennai: The Tamil Nadu government has declared snake bites a notifiable disease, mandating that all government and private hospitals report cases to support targeted prevention and treatment initiatives.
This new regulation, under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939, aims to address snake bite incidents more effectively by enhancing medical infrastructure and ensuring the availability of anti-snake venom across the state. The Health and Family Welfare Department issued the relevant Government Order (GO) on November 4, with a formal Gazette Notification published on November 6.
In its official statement, the government highlighted the urgent public health risk posed by snake bite envenomation, a condition that affects rural populations in tropical and subtropical regions, especially agricultural workers, children, and people in snake-prone areas. With guidance from the World Health Organization's global strategy to reduce snake bite-related deaths and disabilities, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare’s National Action Plan aims to halve snake bite fatalities by 2030.
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Pakistan reports two more polio cases; Total tally now 52
ISLAMABAD: At least two more cases of poliovirus were reported in Pakistan, taking the number of infections to 52 so far this year, a report said on Friday.
“The Regional Reference Laboratory for Polio Eradication at the National Institute of Health has confirmed the detection of two more wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) cases in Pakistan," an official statement said.
The fresh infections — a boy and a girl — were reported from the Dera Ismail Khan district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
“Genetic sequencing of the samples collected from the children is underway," the statement read. Dera Ismail Khan, one of the seven polio-endemic districts of southern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has reported five polio cases so far this year.
Of the 52 cases in the country this year, 24 are from Balochistan, 13 from Sindh, 13 from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and one each from Punjab and Islamabad.
There is no cure for polio. Only multiple doses of the oral polio vaccine and completion of the routine vaccination schedule for all children under the age of five can keep them protected.
