Essay On Snake Bite

Snake bite is one of the medical emergencies most commonly reported from the developing countries of the tropical region. Snake bite is major public health hazard and neglected tropical disease in India[16].The estimated annual death due to snake bite in India is nearly 50,000 persons. Persistent efforts thus have been made to make it a notifiable disease in the south-east asia region(SEAR) of the WHO[17].

This study explores the profile of 328 snake bite victims and analyzed their socio-demographic and epidemiological details. A meticulous history, clinical examination and laboratory investigation were carried out on the day of admission and regularly thereafter. Cases were followed till the final outcome in form of discharge or death.

Representing the working class of population. According to Sujeet R et al., 2014 71% were in the age group of 16-45 years[18]. The male to female ratio of the study participants was 2.48:1. Similar findings have been reported from the studies conducted in different parts of India. A higher male to female ratio was noted in studies conducted in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh [19].

In the present study 61.89% snake were unidentified. This may be either due to patience ignorance, anxiety and poor visibility due to darkness. Similar finding was reported by studies done by Ganneru B et al ., and lograj et al..[20]. Majority of snake bite cases (70.7%) involved the lower extremities which suggest that snake were stepped in inadvertently. This finding is comparable to previous studies[20].

Seasonal variation in incidence of snake bite was in accordance to I F Inamdar et al , D.P. Punde[21]. Most of the snake bites occur in April-July which is the monsoon season, with increased agricultural activity and also the time of increased activity of snakes as they come out of their shelters. Some variation may be due to geographic variation in rainy