India suffers over 58,000 snakebite deaths annually, almost 80% of global snakebite deaths. Of these, around 90% are caused by the Big Four: Common Krait, Spectacled Cobra, Russell’s Viper and Saw-Scaled Viper. Agricultural workers and children are the most affected and children with their smaller body mass often suffer more severe effects.
A venomous snakebite can result in loss of limbs, paralysis, and an extremely painful death. Even today, many snakebite victims go to a ‘baba’ whose outright dangerous treatments sometimes work only because the snake was non-venomous or the bite was dry; i.e. no venom was injected. Fortunately, today we have a fairly reliable treatment.
