Cross-sectional survey of the incidence, mortality and socioeconomic burden of snakebite envenoming in India

Snakebite, a neglected tropical disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in India, despite which reliable nationwide data are limited. To address this, we carried out a survey in 25 districts across 11 states, covering a 60 million population. The community-based study was led by frontline health workers who tracked cases and deaths, while field teams collected details on the bite, the type of snake, treatment received, and costs. Data were gathered continuously for a one-year period. Here we show that 7,094 snakebite cases were recorded, with a mortality rate of 0.33 per 100,000 population. Nearly half of the reported deaths occurred outside hospital settings. Bites were most common in males (64.1%), adults aged 30-39 years (20.9%), and during the monsoon season (62.1%). Most victims (86.4%) sought hospital care, 60.2% received anti-snake venom, and 17.2% experienced side effects to the anti-venom. Treatment placed a heavy financial burden on families; average out-of-pocket expenditure was INR 6,500, with higher costs in private hospitals (INR 27,400) compared to public facilities (INR 3,900). And 47.5% of the victims belonged to households below the poverty line. These findings show that faster access to hospitals, improved anti-venoms, and health insurance are urgently needed to prevent avoidable deaths.

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Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-11-10
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-64849-2
Primary Topic
Venomous Animal Envenomation and Studies
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Cross-sectional survey of the incidence, mortality and socioeconomic burden of snakebite envenoming in India

Swati Patki, Ramesh Kumar Sangwan, Subrata Baidya, Omesh Kumar Bharti et al.
Nature Communications
Venomous Animal Envenomation and Studies
article

Cross-sectional survey of the incidence, mortality and socioeconomic burden of snakebite envenoming in India

Swati Patki, Ramesh Kumar Sangwan, Subrata Baidya, Omesh Kumar Bharti, M. Bhaskar, Sadanand Raut, Himmatrao Saluba Bawaskar, Joseph K. Joseph, Vikas Dhikav, Tana Takum, Srikanta Kanungo, Dileep Punde, Jaideep Menon, Rahul Gajbhiye, Subhash Chandra Bahuguna, Hmar Tlawmte Lalremsanga, Sadhana Awasthi, Surya K Sharma, Rupinder Singh Dhaliwal, Rajesh Guleri, Smita D. Mahale, Kaustubh Bora, Joy Kumar Chakma, Taso Beyong, Chakradhar Majhi, Sanghamitra Pati, Rajesh Sood, Siddhartha Debbarma, Parul Tanwar, Denny John, Nabam Peter, Arun Joshi, Suresh Yadav, Hrishikesh Munshi, Paramjeet Singh, Swati Allen, Geetha Menon, Priyanka Kadam, Dipankar Biswas, SunilKumar Raina, Dinesh Kumar, Rajendra Kumar Soni, B. N. Mohapatra, Jagadish Mahanta, Sreekrishnan T. P, P. V., Amarendra Mohapatra, M S Aravind, Arunabha Dasgupta, Sabarish B Nair, Vanlalduhsaki Ralte, Mimi Ngente
article en

Abstract

Snakebite, a neglected tropical disease is a major cause of mortality and morbidity in India, despite which reliable nationwide data are limited. To address this, we carried out a survey in 25 districts across 11 states, covering a 60 million population. The community-based study was led by frontline health workers who tracked cases and deaths, while field teams collected details on the bite, the type of snake, treatment received, and costs. Data were gathered continuously for a one-year period. Here we show that 7,094 snakebite cases were recorded, with a mortality rate of 0.33 per 100,000 population. Nearly half of the reported deaths occurred outside hospital settings. Bites were most common in males (64.1%), adults aged 30-39 years (20.9%), and during the monsoon season (62.1%). Most victims (86.4%) sought hospital care, 60.2% received anti-snake venom, and 17.2% experienced side effects to the anti-venom. Treatment placed a heavy financial burden on families; average out-of-pocket expenditure was INR 6,500, with higher costs in private hospitals (INR 27,400) compared to public facilities (INR 3,900). And 47.5% of the victims belonged to households below the poverty line. These findings show that faster access to hospitals, improved anti-venoms, and health insurance are urgently needed to prevent avoidable deaths.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Centre (IN), National Institute for Research in Reproductive Health (IN), Maharashtra University of Health Sciences (IN), Sri Venkateswara University (IN), Mizoram University (IN), Government of India (IN), Sardar Patel Medical College (IN), Veer Surendra Sai Medical College and Hospital (IN), Narayana Health (IN), M S Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences (IN), Tripura Medical College & Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Memorial Teaching Hospital (IN), Sriram Chandra Bhanja Medical College Hospital (IN), Indian Council of Medical Research (IN), Dayanand Medical College & Hospital (IN), Government Medical College (IN), Regional Medical Research Centre (IN), Sanskriti Samvardhan Mandal (IN), Government of Himachal Pradesh (IN), Society for Nutrition Education and Health Action (IN), Little Flower Hospital & Research Centre (IN), Dr. BMN College of Home Science (IN), Narayan Medical College and Hospital (IN), Dr. Rajendra Prasad Government Medical College (IN), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (IN), Government of Mizoram (IN), National Institute for Implementation Research on Non-Communicable Diseases (IN), Christian Hospital Serkawn (IN), Agartala Government Medical College (IN), Institute of Medical Sciences (IN)
Indian Council of Medical Research
Openalex Percentile: Top 64%
Venomous Animal Envenomation and Studies
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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