New Delhi, Dec 13 The Supreme Court, on Friday, agreed to examine a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking direction to the government to conduct a public awareness campaign on snake bites to reduce huge mortality in the country, particularly rural India.
A bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and K.V. Viswanathan issued notice and sought responses from the Union Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and all state governments in the matter. Advocate Vishal Tiwari appeared on behalf of the PIL litigant.
The petition referred to the report of the World Health Organisation (WHO), titled “Study estimates more than one million Indians died from snakebite envenoming over past two decades”, showing that the country had 1.2 million snakebite deaths from 2000 to 2019 (an average of 58,000 per year), with nearly half of the victims aged 30-69 and over a quarter being children under 15.
It further highlighted that due to the lack of actual data regarding snake bite deaths in India, there exists a challenge to precisely assess the necessity for antivenoms.
“This leads national health authorities to underestimate the need for antivenom as a result, which reduces demand for snake bite antivenom medical requisite,” added the petition filed by advocate Shailendra Mani Tripathi.
It said that the cases reported to health ministries by clinics and hospitals are often only a small proportion of the actual burden because many victims never reach primary care facilities and are therefore unreported.
Further, the PIL said that doctors and public health experts cite several reasons for the snakebite crisis, including lack of access to immediate first aid facilities, reliance on “spiritual healers” and a large share of the rural population living close to agricultural fields.
It sought directions to make anti-venom and snake bite treatments at primary health centres, community health centres and district hospitals along with the government. hospitals, and government medical colleges across the country.
Also, it sought directions to establish snake bite treatment and care units along with specially trained doctors as per standard medical norms in the government district hospitals and government medical colleges.
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