The recent case of Chulu Munda from Basiya in Gumla caught the eyeballs of many just after he was bitten by a venomous snake. He rushed to the nearest Referral Hospital and brought the snake along. However, there are scores of people in the State who fall prey to the venomous reptiles every year.
Snake bites and snake bite deaths rise during the monsoon season in Jharkhand, probably reflecting the changed agricultural activity, flooding, increased snake activity, and profusion of their natural prey. At least 1,178 people have been bitten by snakes during 2016 in the State according to the data provided by health offcials.
Over 6-year period, there has been a 3-fold increase in the snake bite cases in and around Ranchi, say reports. The underreporting of snake bite deaths is primarily related to the fact that most of the affected patients are treated and die outside health facilities – especially in rural areas.
“The main problem is that during monsoons when houses are filled with water people rush out of their houses in haste without any planning and preparedness increasing the chances of snake bites and the rural people are also more vulnerable after the monsoon as that’s when the agriculture season starts & they have to work endlessly in the fields. As far as our facilities are concerned we provide anti-snake venom free of cost to all the Government hospitals easily accessible to the public,” said Shiv Shankar Harijan, Civil Surgeon, when asked about the rising number of snake bite cases in the State.
“The villagers are requested to bring the patient straight to the hospital rather than wasting time on ‘jhaad-phoonk’. Our hospitals are perfectly equipped to deal with any kinds of snake bites,” added Shiv Shankar Harijan, showing concern about how the affected people lose their lives just because of the delay made in taking the patients to the hospital.
Snakebite remains an important cause of accidental death in particularly rural areas of Jharkhand, and its public health importance has remained thoroughly underestimated.
According to a descriptive study from the clinico-epidemiological profile of snake bites, more than 70 per cent of the snake bite cases are from the Palamu district, the remaining 30 per cent cases are from the adjacent districts of latehar and Garhwa.
Krait and viper remain the most common suspected snake species. Most of the cases can be managed successfully at a secondary care set up and a low dose of polyvalent Anti Snake Venom (ASV). Most of the cases related to snake bites are registered at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) and Sadar Hospital.
“We are satisfactorily equipped with anti snake venom and thereby sufficiently deal with the cases that we receive at our hospital,” informed a Sadar Hospital official.