A plantation worker’s silent, deadly foes

As occupational hazards go, poisonous snakes in the workplace must count as one of the worst. Yet that is the challenge that workers in Kannur’s rubber and cashew plantations face.

A new study on the incidence of snake bites in the district has found that plantation workers were most at risk from snake bites, and that the two species responsible for nearly all the venomous bites were the hump-nosed pit-viper (Hypnale hypnale) and Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii).

The study, conducted by R. Roshnath, a researcher at the Department of Animal Sciences of the Central University of Kerala, Kasaragod, E. Kunhiraman of Pappinissery Visha Chikilsa Kendram (PVCK) in Kannur, and C.V. Rajan of the State Forest Department, is based on data collected during 2012-15 at the PVCK, the main snake bite treatment centre in the district. The findings were published in the UK-based The Herpetological Bulletin.

The study found that of 770 snake bite cases recorded at the hospital during this period, 63.24% were from the hump-nosed pit-viper, and 36.49% from Russell’s viper. Of the 281 bites from Russell’s viper, 112 were suspected to be from juvenile snakes. While bites from Russell’s viper averaged eight a month, they went up to 14 a month from May to August, when juvenile snakes, which are more nervous and active than adults, frequent the environs. “To reduce snake bite cases, we should separate human and snake habitats as much as possible,” Mr. Roshnath said. Having garden plants, and poor waste disposal can attract snakes.

Mitigation measures include rodent control, avoiding sleeping on the ground, and cropping tree branches near windows.

Men get bitten more

Bites from the hump-nosed pit-viper were mostly in Parassinikkadavu, Mayyil and Malapattam, while those of Russell’s viper were from across the district. The victims were more likely to be men aged 40-50 than women. Noting that compensation for snake bites were paid in only 58% of cases, the study said awareness on government compensation had to be raised among the public.