Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Aug 18: In a major move aimed at reducing deaths and disabilities caused by snakebites, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday declared snakebite a “Notified Disease” across the state.

Under the new mandate, all public and private hospitals, medical colleges and medical practitioners are legally required to report every suspected, probable or confirmed snakebite case, along with any resulting deaths, to health authorities.

State Public Health and Family Welfare Minister Prakash Abitkar said rural and remote areas face the highest risk of snakebites, making timely medical intervention crucial.

The notification is aimed at strengthening surveillance, ensuring prompt treatment and improving the distribution of Anti-Snake Venom (ASV) across the state.

According to the order, healthcare institutions and doctors must report every snakebite case to the respective District Health Officer or District Civil Surgeon. The information will be digitised through the Health Management Information System (HMIS/DHIS-2) or the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

The reports will include details such as the number of ASV vials administered, treatment outcomes and referral information.

A dedicated monitoring framework has also been established. At the state level, the Director (Hospitals) will oversee the programme, while District Civil Surgeons and District Health Officers will be responsible at the district level. At the municipal level, the Medical Officer of Health will act as the nodal officer.

These designated officers will directly monitor snakebite incidents and treatment facilities within their respective jurisdictions.

Hospitals treating snakebite patients will also have to maintain real-time records of ASV inventory, consumption and available stock. The centralised system is expected to help authorities quickly move supplies to areas reporting a high incidence of snakebites and prevent shortages.

Authorities will analyse reported cases based on location, season and environmental factors to develop targeted public awareness campaigns.

Emphasising that timely treatment can save lives, Minister Abitkar urged healthcare providers to report every snakebite incident and help prevent avoidable deaths.

The demand to classify snakebite as a notified disease was raised by BJP MLA Viram Pachpute during the Monsoon Session of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly. He had called for mandatory tracking of snakebite cases, mortality rates and treatment outcomes in both government and private hospitals.

Welcoming the government's decision, Pachpute also demanded the revival of the state-run Haffkine Institute for anti-venom production, pointing out that it is the only institute with permission to extract snake venom.

Pachpute raised concerns over Maharashtra's heavy reliance on polyvalent antivenom and advocated the development of species-specific monovalent vaccines targeting venom from native snake species.

He also called for the establishment of regional anti-venom banks to address variations in venom across regions and ensure rural hospitals have access to treatments suited to local snake populations.

Highlighting the critical “golden hour” following a snakebite, Pachpute urged the adoption of rapid diagnostic tools, including RT-PCR-based test kits to identify venom types.

He further called for the modernisation and revival of the Haffkine Institute to facilitate local production of anti-venom.