Center Declares Snakebites as a Notifiable Disease in India

One of the key objectives is to strengthen surveillance of snakebite cases and deaths in India (Representative)

New Delhi:

The Center has urged all states to make snakebite cases and deaths a “notifiable disease” under relevant provisions of the State Public Health Act or other relevant legislation mandating all government and private healthcare facilities (including medical colleges) to report all suspects . possible snakebite cases and deaths.

Snake bites are a matter of public health concern and in some cases cause death, disease and disability, Union Health Minister Punya Salila Srivastava said in a letter.

Farmers, tribal population etc. are at higher risk.

To address the issue of snakebite, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, in consultation with relevant ministries and stakeholders, launched the “National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Poisoning (NAPSE) from India by 2030”. Srivastava mentioned.

He underlined that the goal of the action plan is to halve deaths due to snake bites by 2030.

The plan defined the strategic components, roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders involved in snakebite management, control and prevention.

One of the key objectives under NAPSE is to strengthen surveillance of snakebite cases and deaths in India.

“A robust surveillance system is required to accurately track snakebite incidents and deaths, which will provide valuable data to inform and evaluate the effectiveness of interventions,” Srivastava wrote in his Nov. 27 letter. he said.

Therefore, he stressed the need for mandatory reporting of all snakebite cases and deaths to strengthen snakebite surveillance.

Stakeholders should consider the burden, high-risk areas, factors responsible for deaths of snake bite victims, etc. It will help to measure accurately and will lead to improved clinical management of snake bite victims.

He also said reporting of snakebite cases and deaths would also improve reporting from private healthcare facilities.

“You are requested to make snakebite cases and deaths “reportable diseases” under the relevant provisions under the State Public Health Act or other relevant legislation requiring all government and private healthcare facilities (including medical colleges) to report all suspected, probable healthcare facilities. Snakebite Cases and deaths are in the attached format,” he said in the letter.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is syndicated.)