Crocodile Bank employees catch snakes at the Chennai Trade Fair. Image used for representational purposes | Photo credit: R. Ragu
To address the public health challenge of snake bites, the Tamil Nadu government took a major step by officially declaring snake bites a notifiable disease under the Tamil Nadu Public Health Act, 1939.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare issued a GO in this regard on November 4, followed by a notification in the Tamil Nadu Government Gazette on November 6.
Snakebite, a life-threatening disease caused by the bite of a venomous snake, is a major health problem in rural and snake-endemic areas. It is often preventable, but it poses a risk to vulnerable groups, including agricultural workers, children, and people living in tropical and subtropical regions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized snake bites as a global public health problem and has launched a strategy to reduce death and disability caused by snake bites worldwide.
The announcement follows the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snake Bite Poisoning released by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare earlier this year. The plan aims to halve snake bite deaths by 2030 through a One Health approach that integrates human, animal and environmental health interventions.
By making snakebite a notifiable disease, the Tamil Nadu government aims to improve collection of vital data, strengthen clinical infrastructure and ensure effective distribution of antivenom. The move is expected to lead to better prevention strategies, lower mortality rates and strengthen treatment facilities across the state.
Under the new directive, both government and private hospitals will now have to report snake bites and related deaths to the government. This mandatory notification system will be integrated with the state’s comprehensive health information platform under the Comprehensive Disease Surveillance Program.
A government news release said authorities noticed that snakebite cases and deaths were significantly underreported in existing data, and the new system aimed to fill that gap.
Published – November 8, 2024 at 6:50 pm (India Standard Time)
