Forty-three per cent of snakebite victims in the country die outside hospital settings due to various reasons, ranging from delays in reaching the hospital to a preference for traditional healers before medical intervention.
According to a cross-sectional survey on the incidence, mortality, and socio-economic burden of snakebite envenoming in India, with funding from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and published in this month’s journal Nature Communications, analysis of victim activity at the time of the snakebite showed that farming (23.1%) was the most common context, followed by walking (18%), other work-related activities (16.7%), and sleeping (10.56%). Around 10.5% of snakebites occurred inside the house.
The community-based study was conducted in 25 districts across 11 states, covering a population of 60 million, including the North-Eastern states, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kerala, and Uttarakhand.
The study was led by frontline health workers who tracked cases and deaths, while field teams collected details on the bite, type of snake, treatment received, and related costs. Data were collected continuously for one year. A total of 7,094 snakebite cases were recorded, with a mortality rate of 0.33 per 100,000 population. The national Principal Investigator was Dr. Jaideep C. Menon, a noted cardiologist from the Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi, Kerala.
The national Co-principal Investigator was Dr. Omesh Bharti, State Epidemiologist, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Himachal Pradesh.
The interim report found that snakebites were most common among males (64.1%), adults aged 30–39 years (20.9%), and during the monsoon season (62.1%). Most victims (86.4%) sought hospital care, and 60.2% received anti-snake venom.
The study noted that treatment placed a heavy financial burden on families. The average out-of-pocket expenditure for snakebite treatment was Rs 6,500, with higher costs in private hospitals (Rs 27,400) compared to public facilities (Rs 3,900). Nearly 47.5 per cent of victims belonged to households below the poverty line. The findings show that the faster access to hospitals improved anti-venom availability, and health insurance are urgently needed to prevent avoidable deaths.
Among snakebite victims with comorbidities, hypertension was the most common (71.6%). A small section of the population (3.3%) reported a history of previous snakebite. The distribution of snakebite types included non-venomous bites (41.7%), hematotoxic bites (33.4%), and neurotoxic bites (24.9%).
Breaking down the bites by specific species, Russell’s viper accounted for 17%, krait for 11.5%, saw-scaled viper for 7.9%, cobra for 7.2%, and other venomous species for 14.8%. About 5.7% of victims brought a captured live specimen of the snake, while 22.3% brought the killed specimen along.
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