Kumar Gowda, a 60-year-old small farmer from Sannegowdara Colony in Hunsur taluk, Mysuru district, vividly remembers August 26, 2022—the day he lost his wife. After lunch, Gowda and his wife Ratnamma were planting ginger in their field, a kilometre from their house. Suddenly, he heard Ratnamma screech, “Haavu! Haavu!” (Snake! Snake!). Gowda rushed to her and saw a ‘Naagara Haavu‘ (Spectacled Cobra) slithering away among the freshly planted ginger saplings. “The snake bit her here,” Gowda said, pointing to the talus of his right foot.
Ratnamma was conscious but agitated, her eyes shut. In this verdant region, snakebites are common among farmers. The local custom is to take victims to folk healers rather than hospitals. Gowda followed this tradition, taking Ratnamma to a nearby healer. By the time they arrived, half an hour had passed. Recognising the severity of the injury, the healer advised Gowda to take Ratnamma to a hospital. Tragically, she died en route, within 40 minutes of the snakebite.
Kumar Gowda, looks at a picture of his wife, Ratnamma, who died due to a snakebite. | Photo Credit: VIKHAR AHMED SAYEED
“It is unusual for a snakebite victim to die so quickly,” says Vinod Krishnan, a conservationist with animal protection organisation Humane Society International. “She must have received a massive dose of venom, likely compounded by existing health conditions.”
A few kilometres from Sannegowdara Colony, Satish, a 29-year-old coconut farmer in Siddalingapura, is recovering from a snakebite he received two weeks earlier. “I climbed down from a coconut tree into a pile of fronds and felt a light sting on my right foot. People nearby said a snake had just slithered away. By evening, the bite area was bleeding and swollen,” Satish recalls.
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His family took him to a local “snake hospital”—an unlicensed establishment for treating snakebite victims—on the outskirts of Hunsur. Satish spent 11 days there, incurring costs of Rs. 11,000. Now back home, he expressed wariness about returning to his farm but acknowledged he had to start his coconut harvest soon. His case barely raised eyebrows in the village, where snakebites are commonplace in the agricultural hinterland of Hunsur. In this village, nearly everyone knows someone who has been bitten by a snake.
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Wild encounters
Man-animal conflict in India varies widely, with each scenario presenting unique challenges due to local geography and demography. These complex issues often consume the energy of wildlife biologists and conservationists as they work to resolve them across the country. Among these conflicts, man-snake encounters stand out for their daunting challenges and have been largely overlooked, despite causing catastrophic loss of life and severe health impacts. One stark statistic illustrates the gravity of this issue: snakebites cause more human deaths in India than all other forms of man-animal conflict combined.
India has earned the unfortunate title of ‘snakebite capital of the world’, accounting for roughly half of global snakebite deaths. The World Health Organization (WHO) has classified snakebites as a “neglected tropical disease”. While gathering data is crucial to addressing any man-animal conflict, accurate figures on the scale of India’s snakebite crisis have been elusive.
This is why leading herpetologists, who have tracked this issue for decades, were thrilled when Karnataka became India’s first state to make snakebites a ‘notifiable disease’ in February 2024. This policy requires all snakebites, whether treated in government or private hospitals, to be reported. Though it might seem a minor change, renowned herpetologist Gerry Martin, based near Rathnapuri village in Hunsur taluk, called it “a very, very big thing”.
The true magnitude of India’s snakebite crisis, and the gap between official figures and reality, came to light a few years ago. An ambitious study, part of the broader Million Death Study on premature mortality in India, was conducted by a collaborative group of Indian and international researchers. Their landmark 2011 paper estimated 45,900 annual snakebite deaths in India. A follow-up study in 2020 painted an even grimmer picture, estimating 1.2 million snakebite deaths in India between 2000 and 2019. Despite these staggering numbers, herpetologists and community health researchers believe the actual death toll could be even higher.
Drawing on the critical data from the Million Death Study, Sumanth Bindumadhav, Director of Wildlife at Humane Society International, lobbied officials at Karnataka’s Department of Health and Family Welfare. His goal was to implement crucial measures to address the snakebite crisis, ultimately leading to Karnataka declaring snakebites a ‘notifiable disease’. Gerry Martin noted, “Sumanth worked tirelessly to get snakebites recognized as a major health concern. He is the sole reason this happened.”
Sumanth Bindumadhav, Director of Wildlife at Humane Society International, leading a public outreach programme about snakebites. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
This government initiative is already yielding robust data. Snakebite injuries and deaths are now recorded in the Integrated Health Information Portal (IHIP), providing a more accurate picture of the crisis. For example, Karnataka recorded 6,596 snakebite cases and 19 deaths in 2023. However, data from just the first six months of 2024 (January to June) shows a sharp increase, with 5,418 cases and 36 deaths reported. This data, broken down by district and taluk, allows herpetologists to develop location-specific interventions.
In an interview with Frontline, Bindumadhav reveals that India faces “about 10 lakh snakebite cases every year and around 58,000 deaths”. While the death toll is alarming, Bindumadhav is even more concerned about the high rate of morbidity. “For every death, about nine people suffer lasting injuries. They may lose limbs or other body parts, severely impacting their ability to function. As harsh as it sounds, the morbidity caused by snakebites is often worse than death,” he explains.
Bindumadhav adds, “Snakebite injuries are not an urban or affluent problem. They have been neglected because victims are usually from the poorest sections of society, often farmers. The socioeconomic impact of these deaths and injuries is far greater than what is immediately visible. The true cost of snakebites is almost incomprehensible.”
At first glance, tackling this issue might seem foolhardy. The problem appears overwhelmingly pervasive and difficult to solve. Unlike conflicts with larger animals like elephants, tigers, or even crocodiles, which can be somewhat managed within protected areas, snakes are ubiquitous. They are found everywhere, even in dense urban settings. This ubiquity makes practical solutions to mitigate the crisis seem almost unimaginable.
The road ahead
Despite the enormity of the crisis, Martin and Bindumadhav remain optimistic. They are implementing simple yet effective solutions in villages across Mysuru district. Bindumadhav explains, “Most bites occur at night when farmers walk to their fields without a flashlight to turn on water pumps. It is crucial they carry a light and wear closed shoes. We also advise shaking hay piles before handling them. For sleeping, a Rs. 150 mosquito net can protect against Common Kraits, known to nestle close to humans”.
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Martin adds, “Unlike other man-animal conflicts where species compete for resources, human-snake conflict is different. Neither is consuming the other’s resources. What is needed is vigilance. The solutions are simple, but farmer attitudes resemble motorcyclists riding without helmets – it only takes one accident to end a life.” Martin is involved in local outreach in Hunsur taluk villages, distributing gumboots through Liana Trust.
While these practical measures can save lives, the human-snake conflict has another complex layer: the polyvalent antivenom used in India. Current antivenom, made from snake venom sourced in Tamil Nadu, may be ineffective due to geographical variations in venom composition, even within the same species. It only targets the four main venomous snake species in India: Spectacled Cobra, Russell’s Viper, Saw-scaled Viper, and Common Krait. Bindumadhav notes the lack of standardised consistency in this antivenom and pointed out that no antivenom exists for 18 other venomous species in the country.
Kartik Sunagar, Associate Professor at the Centre of Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, who studies animal venoms, highlights the problems with current antivenoms: “Indian antivenoms, made from Tamil Nadu snake venoms, do not work well even in neighbouring Karnataka. The outdated production technology necessitates administering numerous vials – up to 100 in some cases. Infusing large amounts of horse antibodies into humans often causes dangerous, potentially lethal anaphylaxis. While antivenoms do save lives, they’re far from perfect. We are working to address these issues.”
Resolving human-snake conflict faces another significant hurdle: the involvement of multiple stakeholders. Unlike other man-animal conflicts that typically involve only the Forest Department, human-snake conflicts require coordination among several departments, including health, agriculture, and rural development. This adds extra layers of bureaucracy to navigate when addressing the crisis.
Bindumadhav and Martin point out that even if these challenges were overcome, a huge problem remains: people’s attitudes towards snakebite treatment. Although snakebites are completely curable, most victims instinctively seek folk healers instead of hospitals where antivenom is available. This delay in proper treatment often leads to severe health complications and sometimes death. Moreover, snakebites are classified as medico-legal cases, requiring hospitals to inform the police if victims seek government compensation. This involvement of law enforcement deters many from seeking hospital care, pushing them towards local healers.
Information panels such as this can be seen in the rural hinterland of Mysuru district to create awareness about snakebites. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
To understand these healers’ methods, Frontline visited an establishment on Hunsur’s outskirts, run by two elderly women who had treated Satish for 11 days. Reluctantly, one healer explained their technique anonymously: “We attach snake stones to the victim’s arm or leg. The stone falls off once all poison is removed. We also administer Ayurvedic concoctions to aid healing”. Originally from Kerala, these healers have operated here for 14 years. During Frontline‘s visit, ten snakebite victims were waiting outside, demonstrating the healers’ popularity. The women claimed they advise hospital visits for serious cases, but this isn’t common practice among all local healers in Hunsur taluk.
Dinesh Gundu Rao, Karnataka’s Minister for Health and Family Welfare, acknowledges the prevalence of folk healers as problematic. At a workshop launching Karnataka’s ‘State Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming’ on July 10, he stated, “Since snakebite victims often turn to local healers, we must involve them in our efforts. They should receive training in first-line treatment.”
By recognising snakebites as a ‘notifiable disease,’ Karnataka has taken a pioneering step in addressing this serious issue. Sources in Karnataka’s Health Department reveal that other state governments are considering similar implementations in the coming years. India’s approach to managing snakebites will be crucial if the World Health Organisation is to achieve its goal of halving global snakebite deaths by 2030.
