Epidemiology of Russell's viper snakebites in Bangladesh, 2017-2024: An analysis of news media reports

OBJECTIVE: Snakebite incidents annually affect thousands of lives in Bangladesh. Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) is a powerful predator and is known for its strong venom. It was reported through various media reports that Russell’s viper sightings and bites spread in the country. The study aims to examine the characteristics of Russell’s viper bite victims by analyzing media reports in Bangladesh. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This study adopted an exploratory research design. Four news portals were selected purposively to extract data on the socio-demographic characteristics of Russell’s viper bite victims published between 2017 and 2024. A total of 187 media reports were retrieved from these four news portals. After removing irrelevant reports, this study included thirty-nine media reports on Russell’s viper bites. These 39 media reports detailed a total of 27 Russell’s viper bite victims. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies and percentages were calculated using SPSS (version 26). RESULTS: Adult males, particularly farmers, who worked in agricultural fields, were the most commonly reported victims of Russell’s viper bites. The majority of the reported Russell’s viper bites were accidental and occurred when victims were unaware of the snake’s presence. Over half of the reported snakebite victims died, although the majority of them had gone to the hospital and received treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Promoting the implementation of national snakebite control guidelines and educating the community on first aid procedures and timely hospital transportation is crucial for the safety of the snakebite victims.