Why are so many people dying from snake bites in India?
Snakebites remain a major public health problem in India, especially in rural areas. About 50,000 people die from snakebites every year, due to lack of timely treatment, shortage of antivenom in hospitals and delay in reaching hospitals due to superstitions. The government's National Plan 2024 aims to reduce the number of deaths, but it has not yet been fully implemented. Experts say it is important to treat snakebites as medical emergencies, make antivenom available in rural hospitals, increase training of health workers and eliminate superstitions. Otherwise, thousands of deaths every year will remain just statistics.
