‘Telangana third in the country in snakebite rate’

HYDERABAD: Unavailability of region-specific anti-venom vaccine poses a huge challenge in providing right medical care to snakebite victims in India, which has highest death toll due to snakebites in the world. At a conference on ‘Snake Venom Research and Snakebite Therapy’, held by Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) here recently, it was revealed that venom of snakes of same species can vary from one region to another. Accordingly, anti-venom vaccine administered to victims of snakebite must also vary from one region to another. But it is not the case in India.

At CCMB conference a study, ‘Transporting Snakebite Victims to Appropriate Health Facility within Golden Hour through Toll-Free Emergency Ambulance Service in India, Save Lives’, conducted by GVK-EMRI was presented which pointed out that the anti-venom vaccine used in India to treat snake bites is extracted from snakes belonging to only one region: Tamil Nadu. The study also reported that Telangana, with 4,113 snakebites in a year, stands third in the country after TN and AP.

According to experts, the mismatch of the venom from a region where its is sourced to develop anti-venom vaccine and the venom of the snake that bit the human is a cause of concern. This mismatch can cause problems in determining the accurate dosage of vaccine to be administered to the victim and might result in escalation of the cost of treatment. The mismatch can also cause reactionary medical complications, the study pointed out.

Dr N Karthikeyan, senior principal scientist at CCMB and in charge of the LaCONES, said as most of the snakebite victims are in rural areas, where the health infrastructure is poor, it just adds to the complications.