Snakebite deaths to come down to zero in state: Minister

Health Minister K. Muraleedharan said that all efforts would be made to reduce the number of snakebite deaths to zero.

He was inaugurating a national seminar on Snakebite Envenoming Management organized by the School of Public Health and Kerala University of Health Sciences here on Monday to discuss scientific and policy interventions aimed at reducing snakebite deaths in the state to zero.

Mr Muraleedharan said it was deeply worrying that snakebite and rabies continued to cause significant loss of life in a state hailed as a paragon of public health in the country. An average of 20 people die from snake bites in the state every year. The fact that many of these deaths occur in children underscores the urgency of eliminating snakebite deaths.

The Minister said that while it is a valuable service that is widely appreciated by doctors, nurses and other health workers, they should not refuse to administer snake venom for fear of side effects they can manage. He said that facilities would be created at peripheral hospitals for proper administration of anti snake venom and observation of patients.

The workshop also discussed the SARPA mobile app developed by the forest department, which helps users quickly locate snake catchers as well as hospitals where treatment facilities are available. The ecological behavior of venomous snakes, the SARPA surveillance system, limitations of existing venom treatments, and emerging scientific treatment options were discussed. at the seminar.

Experts who spoke said it was worrying that children and socially marginalized communities continued to account for a disproportionate share of snakebite deaths.

Factors that contributed to higher snakebite mortality included poor housing conditions, occupational hazard and failure to provide treatment during the golden hour.

The seminar also highlighted the need to develop a new generation treatment as the current polyvalent antivenom is not effective against all snake species.

Speakers included Nishigandha Naik, former ICMR Emeritus Professor, Sandeep Das, DBT Research Associate, Calicut University, and Karthik Sunagar, Associate Professor, Indian Institute of Science, among others.

Earlier, Kerala University of Health Sciences Vice-Chancellor Mohanan Kunnummal said the university was committed to building the medical research expertise needed to bring snakebite deaths to zero.

Published – 25 May 2026 21:32 IST