Tamil Nadu Declares Snakebite a Notified Disease to Improve Treatment and Data Collection

The Tamil Nadu Government has taken a big step because of the growing concern over snakebite cases. The Tamil Nadu government has declared snake bite as a 'notified disease' under the Public Health Act. After this, now the hospitals will have to report the data of snake bites to the state government.

The aim of this decision of the government is to improve data collection, clinical infrastructure and allocation of anti-venom to prevent deaths due to snake bites.

In Tamil Nadu, till June this year, 7,300 cases of snake bite were reported and 13 people also died in such cases. At the same time, last year this number was 19,795 with 43 deaths and in 2022, 15,120 cases were reported with 17 deaths.

Officials said not all snakebite cases are reported to hospitals, leading to gaps in data collection. However, the data is more accurate in the case of snakebite deaths. The government intends to make it more robust so that anti-venom is made available wherever needed for treatment.

Despite having one of the best healthcare systems in the country, Tamil Nadu has reported cases of lack of adequate anti-snake venom, leading to delays in treatment and deaths. According to officials, they hope that after being declared a 'notified disease', the deficiencies will be removed and the challenge will be addressed effectively.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has launched a global strategy to control deaths and disabilities due to snakebites. The national action plan aims to halve snakebite deaths by 2030 through a One Health approach.