Maharashtra to draw up roadmap to halve snakebite deaths by 2030
The state is preparing a multi-department roadmap to halve snakebite deaths by 2030, after a consultation at the Haffkine Institute.
Snakebite patients often do not get treatment in time, which leads to deaths and serious complications. To prevent this, Maharashtra is preparing a roadmap to halve snakebite deaths by 2030.
Until now, snakebite was considered the responsibility of the health department alone. This time the forest, animal husbandry, tribal development, panchayat and rural development, and agriculture departments will also be brought into the effort. A consultation meeting was recently held at the Haffkine Institute for this purpose.
The Public Health Department, the National Centre for Disease Control and John Snow India Private Limited took part in the meeting. Suggestions were sought from the various departments through it.
The meeting examined the entire chain, from the snakebite incident to treatment in hospital and the follow-up afterwards. The emphasis was on identifying the gaps and needs at every level: community, first response, health facility, referral service and follow-up.
Padma Shri Dr Himmatrao Bawaskar, Dr Sadanand Raut and Dr Dilip Punde offered guidance on the examination, treatment and management of snakebite patients. Representatives of the various departments were divided into four groups for discussion, which settled the main problems, priorities, responsibilities and expected outcomes.
The roadmap will be prepared on the basis of the meeting's findings. It will include the roles of the various departments, the necessary steps and a system of coordination. The plan is to settle its initial outline within the next month. The plan will focus on snakebite prevention, awareness, immediate medical help and effective management of patients.
Dr Sadanand Raut, a member of the National Technical Advisory Committee on Snakebite, said the state government's snakebite prevention programme would help record snakebite cases correctly and support a fixed treatment policy. According to him, information on whether snakebite antivenom is available would also be received immediately. Dr Raut said that public awareness, training of doctors and proper treatment would reduce the number of deaths and disabilities from snakebite.
