Snake Bites: Different Approaches Different Results
Why are more snake attacks fatal in India than elsewhere?
If you are ever unfortunate enough to be bitten by a venomous snake, don’t let it be in India. Over 50% of snake bite fatalities occur in India giving the false impression that Indian snakes must be more venomous, more aggressive or more plentiful. None of these is true. Australia is home to more venomous snakes than India, yet in 2005 there was only one fatality, whereas in India the number was somewhat higher: 50,000.
The reason for the disparity in snake bite outcome is to be found not with the snakes, but with the people who are bitten and the management of their bites.
Rural workers are most frequently the victims in India. They disturb snakes unintentionally and the vulnerable, intimidated reptiles lash out in self protection. Snakes don’t usually go looking for trouble.
Once bitten, many rural people turn first to traditional healers for help; medical help is not always readily accessible. The efforts of local healers are usually ineffective and time is lost, the victims eventually arriving at a hospital when the poison has already taken a heavy toll on the system.
Lost of time is compounded by the variety of approaches and treatments favoured by different doctors and different hospitals. There is plenty of anti-venom available, but there is no nationwide protocol established for its use.
Government health agencies have taken up the challenge to roll out a standardised and effective protocol throughout the country. Toxicology experts from India and elsewhere have been engaged in trying to push standard treatment into the countryside, to local clinics, as close as possible to where the snake bites occur.
The reason for Australia’s limited rate of fatality ensuing from snake bites is one of management and resources, education and organisation: rich countries can afford it.
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