○On October 10, the state of Kerala, following within the footsteps of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, declared snakebite envenomation a illness of public well being significance below the Kerala Public Well being Act, 2023. The notification follows the Centre’s directive to implement the Nationwide Motion Plan on Snakebite Envenomation 2024, an effort to halve snakebite-related deaths in India by 2030. In response to a research revealed in a peer-reviewed journal, 78,600 snakebite deaths are reported every year around the globe, with greater than 64,000 deaths in India. nature communications2022.
Dr. Ajahn MJ, Further Director Normal, Division of Well being and Household Welfare, state officer for snakebite poison management, mentioned the notification will allow higher monitoring of snakebite circumstances, together with frequency, severity and geographical unfold of snakebites. “This may reveal traits, hotspots and susceptible populations, offering clearer epidemiological insights. Extra importantly, it’ll assist guarantee satisfactory ASV (anti-snake venom) shares in high-incidence areas and strengthen hospital preparedness,” he says.
This second did not come out of nowhere. It has been painfully and irrevocably formed by a sequence of occasions which have pressured nations to confront the prices of human-wildlife battle.
hazard of gaps
On the morning of November 20, 2019, Shehara Sherin (10 years outdated) left for varsity together with her lunch field in hand. Sherin, a fifth-year pupil at Authorities Sarvajana Vocational Excessive Faculty in Sultan Bathery in Wayanad district, was accompanied by her cousin Nihal N. Firoz, additionally 10 years outdated.
That cool afternoon, Sherin was at school when her foot slipped into the hole below the bench. she cried. Her mother and father, Abdul Aziz Nevada and Sajina Aisha, later discovered {that a} toxic snake that was curled up there had bitten her.
“What was alleged to be a secure haven for our youngster turned the start of our nightmare,” says Ajith, recalling the worst day of his life.
To make issues worse, there was a delay in taking Sherin to the hospital. “She was mendacity in ache as individuals stood confused round her. I arrived on the faculty at 3.50pm and took her to the hospital.” Sherin had been bitten practically 40 minutes earlier. There was already redness and swelling within the space and he or she was in seen ache.
They rushed the kid to a close-by non-public hospital, the place he was referred to Sultan Bateri Taluk Hospital, about 2 km away. “The hospital had adequate ASV inventory, however lacked ventilator assist,” Ajith mentioned. Medical doctors suggested her to be taken to Calicut Public Medical Faculty, practically 90 km away.
“By that point, her situation had deteriorated quickly. On the way in which, the ambulance went to Visri Taluk Hospital, however medical doctors there too mentioned they may not deal with the case,” Ajith mentioned. From there, Sherin was transferred to a personal hospital in Chelod, about 5 kilometers away. He was pronounced useless at 6:15 p.m.
“There have been cracks within the classroom flooring and no pest management checks had been carried out,” Ajith claims. “Nobody at that college was liable for the security of the youngsters. Not the lecturers, not the administration.”
The incident uncovered the state’s incapacity to cope with snakebite incidents, despite the fact that 123 individuals died from snakebites in 2018-2019. Following the avoidable dying of a kid, the Kerala Excessive Courtroom initiated suomoto proceedings on December 9, 2019. Consequently, intensive faculty infrastructure upgrades and security pointers had been launched.
use a snake as a weapon
Only a few months after Sherin’s dying, snakebite incidents as soon as once more dominated the headlines in Kerala. In Might 2020, Sooraj Kumar, a financial institution worker in Kollam, killed his spouse Utra utilizing a toxic snake. He grabbed the Indian cobra’s hood and pressed it shut whereas Utra slept. The excited snake bit her twice, killing her. Cobra venom paralyzes respiratory muscle groups and might kill an individual inside hours.
Indian cobra. |Picture courtesy: Kerala Forest Division
Investigations revealed that this was not the primary time Mr Kumar had tried to kill his spouse. Two months earlier, he had launched one other venomous snake, a Russell’s viper, into her bed room in an try to kill Utra. He was bitten by a viper, however survived after being hospitalized. Though her household dismissed it as an unlucky accident, Usra’s mother and father filed a grievance with the police after her dying. Police arrested Kumar.
Through the investigation, police discovered that Kumar had bought the snakes from conventional snake charmers and unlicensed handlers who illegally hold wild snakes. His motive was to acquire Uthra’s gold and declare her life insurance coverage. Further District and Periods Courtroom No. 6, Kollam termed the case as a “uncommon of uncommon circumstances” and sentenced Kumar to 17 years of rigorous imprisonment and double imprisonment.
Yet one more tragic incident happened in July the identical yr, when snake catcher Zakir Hussain was bitten by a cobra he had rescued from his home in Navaikulam in Thiruvananthapuram. He rescued the snake by grabbing it together with his naked palms, as was widespread on the time, and proudly displayed it to onlookers. “The snake bit him on the proper wrist and the venom shortly unfold by way of his veins,” mentioned Muhammed Anwar Y, assistant conservator of forests.
SARPA success
With its dense tropical forests, huge wetlands and excessive inhabitants density, Kerala has lengthy battled the lethal risk of snakebites. In response to the forest division, there are greater than 130 species of snakes within the space, about 10 of that are venomous.
Snake envenomation happens ceaselessly in agricultural land, forest areas, and concrete areas and has at all times brought on main well being issues. Almost 5,000 snakebites are reported within the state every year, in accordance with state well being division information. Nonetheless, the true quantity could also be a lot increased, as many snakebite incidents go unreported, particularly in rural areas. Along with human casualties, snakebites account for practically 70 per cent of wildlife-related deaths reported in Kerala over the previous decade, the division mentioned.
The deaths of Utra and Hussein, and particularly Sherin, marked a turning level within the state’s response to the disaster. “It’s due to them that the forest division launched SARPA (Snake Consciousness, Rescue and Safety App) in August 2020,” Anwar identified. This cell software connects individuals with skilled rescuers, supplies first support info for snake bites, and helps individuals establish the kind of snake.
A senior forest official added that this initiative is the primary of its form in India. Conventional rescue strategies are thought of unscientific and harmful, and snake rescuers and station personnel are actually skilled within the scientific “bag and pipe” technique utilizing security tools. This system includes inserting a pipe into a robust fabric bag and guiding the snake to a secure location with out direct bodily contact. Roughly 6,200 individuals have been skilled below this system up to now. These embody individuals from totally different sectors of society, equivalent to medical doctors, professors, advocates, IT professionals, non permanent employees, and researchers.
Anwar, who can be SARPA’s nationwide nodal officer, mentioned the initiative was successful. “Inside 5 years, the variety of snakebite deaths has decreased from 123 in 2018-19 to 34 in 2024-25,” he says. There have been 14 deaths up to now within the ongoing monetary yr, the newest of which was reported on November 21 when a toddler was bitten by a cobra in Malappuram. “Almost 58,000 snakes have been safely rescued and returned to their pure habitat,” he added.
Wildlife Warden Pramod G. Krishnan mentioned the current declaration of snakebite envenomation as a notifiable illness shall be a “shot within the arm” for Kerala’s purpose of zero snakebite deaths by 2030. The Forest Service is now making ready to increase assets and coaching to launch the second section of SARPA.
Environmental and way of life modifications are additionally contributing to the decline in human-snake encounters. “Elimination of open defecation, near-universal LPG protection, lowered dependence on firewood, and mechanized farming strategies have all helped,” says Dr. Jaideep C. Menon, professor of grownup cardiology and public well being at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi.
As well as, the Division of Native Authorities, Division of Normal Schooling and different departments have taken many precautionary measures. “Security audits are commonly performed at colleges earlier than every faculty yr to establish and remediate potential hazards,” Anwar mentioned.
The state can be prioritizing the supply of security tools equivalent to rubber boots and gloves to Mahatma Gandhi Nationwide Rural Employment Assure Scheme (MGNREGS) workers, contemplating the danger of encountering snakes in rural areas.
Shyamala M., an MGNREGS worker from Palod, Thiruvananthapuram, factors out that they’re now given gloves when finishing up duties equivalent to vegetation elimination. “Final yr, considered one of my colleagues was bitten by a knob-nosed pit viper. Such incidents was widespread,” she says.
Snake rescuers bear coaching at a workshop to be held in Thiruvananthapuram in 2023. Picture courtesy: Kerala Forest Division
Wayanad-based physician and SARPA educator Rajesh Kumar mentioned efforts are being made to unfold consciousness about snakes and venomous species, particularly among the many youth. The tutorial program SARPA Padam is being rolled out throughout academic establishments. Consciousness periods for teams equivalent to Kudumbasree may even be performed.
Hurdles remaining
Nonetheless, regardless of vital progress made in snake dealing with and prevention of snakebite deaths, Kerala nonetheless faces challenges.
Nationally, snakebite mitigation efforts primarily deal with the 4 main snake species: Indian cobras, snakes, Russell’s vipers, and noticed snakes. Nonetheless, snakebite incidents brought on by the knob-nosed pit viper are on the rise in Kerala. Pit vipers are endemic to the Western Ghats.
Dr Menon attributes the rise in bump-nosed pit viper bites to the shift in agricultural practices from paddy cultivation to plantation-based money crops equivalent to rubber and cardamom. This toxic species is understood to desire cool, moist environments equivalent to jungles and plantations. It’s primarily present in fallen leaves and bushes.
The polyvalent ASV produced in India makes use of the poisons of the 4 main nations. Nonetheless, research have proven that it’s ineffective at neutralizing the venom of the knob-nosed pit viper.
Dr Menon, who can be the director of the ICMR Collaborative Analysis Heart on Snakebite, emphasizes the necessity to arrange regional poison assortment centres. “That is wanted to enhance antivenom manufacturing by creating each region-specific and species-specific antivenoms,” he says.
Presently, like most different states, Kerala depends on ASV produced from venom extracted by the Irula Snake Catching Industrial Cooperative Society in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu. The Irula individuals are an indigenous neighborhood identified for his or her conventional methods of catching snakes and rats. In July 2025, whereas inaugurating World Snake Day in Thiruvananthapuram, Forest Minister AK Saseendran introduced plans to regionally produce ASV to handle the perceived ineffectiveness of present antivenoms because of geographical variation in venom efficiency.
Sustaining SARPA’s momentum can be a problem, in accordance with senior forest officers. Of the three,300 skilled and licensed snake rescuers, lower than 1,000 are nonetheless energetic. “Many snake lovers are skilled in snake rescue, however given their day-to-day work, they’re hardly ever capable of reply on brief discover,” the official mentioned.
A Speedy Response Staff (RRT) member from Pathanamthitta factors out that when snake-related emergencies happen within the space, forest division personnel are primarily concerned, primarily because of the lack of licensed snake handlers within the space. Though RRT groups have successfully responded to a wide range of emergencies, their assets have gotten more and more strained, particularly in forest fringe areas the place a rise in conflicts involving different wildlife equivalent to elephants and wild boars has been reported. To deal with this difficulty, the division is contemplating measures to make sure that every native physique has a minimum of one energetic licensed snake handler.
Persistent medical challenges additionally stay a significant barrier to efficient administration of snakebites. “There may be medical hesitancy in administering ASV, primarily because of concern of anaphylaxis (a extreme and life-threatening allergic response). That is typically related to insufficient coaching and insufficient infrastructure to handle issues,” well being officers say.
Well timed and efficient prehospital care can be important to lowering snakebite mortality. Though emergency companies exist, most snakebite victims nonetheless depend on non-public transportation. Specialists have known as for strengthening ambulance companies, together with snakebite administration protocols, and introducing a hub-and-spoke mannequin by which neighborhood well being facilities and taluk hospitals assist a community of main well being centres.
Herpetologist Sandeep Das says Kerala’s current deal with lowering snakebites is having a knock-on impact on conservation efforts. “Snakes play an vital function in sustaining wholesome ecosystems by controlling rodent populations, which in flip helps cut back the unfold of zoonotic illnesses,” he says.
Das, who has been actively concerned with SARPA and Snakepedia, a complete database of snake species present in Kerala, added that there was a visual change within the public’s perspective in direction of snakes. “The place concern and hostility as soon as prevailed, there may be now larger consciousness and respect for these typically misunderstood reptiles. Individuals are more and more recognizing their ecological significance and the necessity to reply with scientific data when encountered, relatively than performing out of concern, equivalent to killing them on sight,” he says.
Because the state strikes towards its purpose of zero snakebites, the systemic overhaul sparked by the kid’s dying continues to function a wake-up name and a catalyst for change.
sarath.bg@thehindu.co.in
