2,479 snake bite cases reported in Telangana in 2024: Health Ministry
Telangana, AP and seven other States account for 70 per cent of snake bite deaths;
Hyderabad: As many as 2,479 snake bite cases were reported in Telangana in 2024. Luckily, no death was reported in the State, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. In 2023, around 2,559 snake bite cases were reported in the State as against 2,562 cases in 2022.
People living in densely populated low altitude and agricultural areas in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat account for 70 per cent of deaths particularly during the rainy season when encounters between snakes and humans are more frequent at home and outdoors areas.
In a report on National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE) - “A strategic approach to halve the deaths and disabilities due to snakebite envenoming by 2030” developed by National Centre for Disease Control, the Health Ministry said as per a systematic literature studies conducted by researchers showed that around 58,000 deaths occur of an estimated three to four million snake bites annually which accounts for half of all snakebite deaths globally.
Only a small proportion of snakebite victims across countries report to clinics and hospitals and actual burden of snakebite is grossly underreported. The burden of premature death as a consequence of snakebite envenoming in India is estimated at 2.97 million disability adjusted life years, whereas the global burden is estimated at 6.07 million disability adjusted life years, the report said.
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 2,000 deaths occur due to snakebite envenoming.
The factors that may be contributing to the high incidence of snake bite include lower altitude, the more extensive and intensively farmed arable land, species and population densities of snake species of medical importance and many a times the snake densities are relatively high, particularly in grain agriculture areas which attracts the large rodent and amphibian populations that are eaten by snakes.
Agricultural laborers in India face heightened vulnerability to snakebites due to their dependence on traditional, non-mechanized, and cost-effective farming methods. The risk is exacerbated during the monsoons, as this coincides with both heightened agricultural activities and snake breeding seasons.
Additionally, their exposure to precarious living conditions, inadequate lighting, sleeping on the ground, and the use of outdoor toilets further elevate the likelihood of encountering snakes