This monsoon, in addition to being prepared for floods, governments should also be ready for snakebites

Prelims-testable facts

• 01The southwest monsoon in India typically runs from June to September.
• 02Snakebites are a major public health crisis in India, with 97% of deaths occurring outside urban areas.
• 03In India, the majority of snakebite victims (59%) are male.
• 04The majority of snakebite deaths in India occur in the 15-29 age group.
• 05The World Health Organization estimates that there were approximately 1.2 million deaths from snakebite envenoming in India between 2000 and 2019.
• 06Only eight states in India have declared snakebite cases and deaths as 'notifiable' under Public Health Regulations.
• 07In India, the government's data on snakebites is significantly lower than estimates by the World Health Organization, with reported cases at 300,000 per year and only about 2,000 deaths due to snakebite envenoming.

Trap alerts

• Most people think that snakebites are a common occurrence in urban areas, but actually 97% of deaths occur outside of urban areas.
• Most people think that the government's data on snakebites is accurate, but actually it is significantly lower than estimates by the World Health Organization.