The Centre has urged all states to declare snakebite a notified disease, making it mandatory for all health centres to report such cases and deaths, according to a letter sent by Union Health Secretary Punya Salil Srivastava to all states and union territories.

He wrote that snakebite is a public health issue and in some cases it results in death, illness or disability. States should declare snakebite as a notified disease under the relevant sections of their public health laws or other applicable laws. Along with this, it should be made mandatory for all government and private health centers and medical colleges to report any such suspected case or death.

Farmers and tribal population are more at risk

The paper said that farmers and tribal population, among others, are at a higher risk of snakebite. To tackle snakebite cases, the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has also launched the National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenomation in India by 2030. The aim of this plan is to halve the number of deaths due to snakebite by 2030.

According to the data of World Health Organization, the number of snakebite cases globally is around 54 lakhs. Out of these, around 18 lakhs to 27 lakhs are due to snake poisoning. In Asia alone, 20 lakh cases of snakebite and poisoning are reported every year, while Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka account for 70 percent of the deaths due to snakebite worldwide. In India, around 50 thousand deaths occur in 30-40 lakh snakebite cases every year, which is half of the global number of deaths related to this.

Doctor-population ratio better than WHO standards

Apart from this, Union Health Minister JP Nadda told the Parliament on Friday that 13,86,145 allopathic doctors are registered with the State Medical Council and National Medical Council in India till November 2024. Assuming 80 percent availability of these, including 6.14 lakh AYUSH doctors, India has one doctor per population of 811, which is much better than the World Health Organization's ratio of one per 1000.