Snake Bites Management & Treatment in Livestock

A large percentage of India’s population resides in rural areas and is mostly dependent on agriculture where livestock production dominates. Farmers in rural areas are sometimes faced with livestock diseases and problems like snakebite. Cattle are believed to be more vulnerable to snakebite than goats. Snakebite can be a serious problem to cattle in summer when it is warm and favorable for snakes to be out of their holes hunting on pastures where cattle graze. During grazing, cattle are at a high risk of coming in contact with snakes. Snakebite has been reported as a serious problem for livestock all over the world. Poisoning by snakebite requires an immediate medical attention. Some farmers are either resource poor or stay far away from urban areas and they cannot easily acquire modern medicine for their livestock. Such farmers usually tend to use traditional remedies. Snake bites are common in most rural areas, particularly in forest and forest fringe villages. Deaths of livestock due to poisonous snake bites are a major cause of death in our forest covered area despite being highly preventable. Snake bite in animals generally occurs during grazing or hunting or while playing in the garden. Most of the cases of snake bite have been reported in dogs and horses. Poisoning from snake venom in animals is an emergency which requires immediate attention or otherwise delayed and inadequate treatment may lead to untoward consequences. There are nearly 216 species of snakes in India in which 60 are considered poisonous. The most poisonous, medically important species of India distributed widely throughout the country, nearly one lakh animals in the world fall prey to venomous snake bite every year. In India, snake bite is a common and important cause of accidental death in livestock. Exact data on snake bite in livestock is not available in the country. However, this is very common death cause in animals especially in rural areas of India. Snake bite is common in animals such as cattle, sheep, goat and dogs. Snake venom is a mixture of toxins. Depending on the type of snake the venom constituents vary. The animals exhibit various symptoms like cardio pulmonary dysfunction, local tissue damage, blood coagulation defects, ataxia etc., depending on type of snake bite. Poisoning from snake venom in animals is an emergency which requires immediate attention or otherwise delayed and inadequate treatment may lead to untoward consequences so snake bite with Envenomation requires immediate attention and treatment is must. Russell’s viper is one common poisonous snake in Indian subcontinent. Many snake bites can cause injury or death in livestock, and treatment depends on the type of animal bitten and its sensitivity to that particular snake’s venom. Horses are at the top of the sensitivity list, followed by sheep, cows, goats, dogs (and humans), pigs and cats.