Maharashtra declares snakebite a notified disease to ensure vaccine tracking and timely treatment
Mumbai, Aug 18 (IANS) In a major move to curb deaths and disabilities caused by snakebites, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday declared snakebite a “Notified Disease” across the state.
Under this new mandate issued by the state government, all public and private hospitals, medical colleges, and medical practitioners are now legally obligated to report every suspected, probable, or confirmed case of snakebite, as well as any resulting fatalities, to health authorities.
State Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Prakash Abitkar highlighted that rural and remote regions face the highest risk of snakebites, making timely medical intervention critical.
The notification aims to improve monitoring, facilitate prompt treatment, and optimise the distribution of Anti-Snake Venom (ASV).
According to the notification, healthcare institutions and doctors must report every case to the respective District Health Officer or District Civil Surgeon.
The data will be digitised through the Health Management Information System (HMIS/DHIS-2) or the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).
Reports must include details on the number of ASV vials administered, treatment outcomes, and referral information.
“To streamline administration, a dedicated monitoring framework has been established comprising State Level: Director (Hospitals), District Level: District Civil Surgeon and District Health Officer and Municipal Level: Medical Officer of Health. These designated Nodal Officers will directly oversee snakebite incidents and treatment facilities within their respective jurisdictions. Hospitals providing treatment must maintain real-time records of their ASV inventory, usage, and remaining stock. This centralised monitoring will enable the rapid dispatch of vaccines to high-incidence areas to prevent shortages,” the notification said.
According to the notification, authorities will analyse snakebite data based on location, season, and environmental factors to design targeted public awareness campaigns.
Emphasising that timely treatment is the key to saving lives, Minister Abitkar urged healthcare providers to report every incident to prevent avoidable deaths.
The demand for declaring snake bite a notified disease was made by BJP MLA Viram Pachpute in the State Assembly during the Monsoon session.
He said that it was necessary to ensure mandatory tracking of snakebite cases, mortality rates, and treatment outcomes across public and private hospitals.
He welcomed the state government’s decision and demanded that the government-run Haffkine Institute should be revived for the production of anti-venom as it is the only institute which has permission of extracting snake venom.
Pachpute raised concerns that Maharashtra relies almost exclusively on polyvalent antivenom.
He advocated for species-specific monovalent vaccines to effectively target venom from specific native snake species.
He demanded the setup of regional anti-venom banks to account for regional venom variations, ensuring rural hospitals are equipped with tailored treatments suited to local snake populations.
Emphasising the critical “golden hour” after a bite, Pachpute urged the adoption of rapid diagnostic tools (such as RT-PCR test kits to identify venom types) and called for the modernisation and revival of the Haffkine Institute for local vaccine manufacturing.
–IANS
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