Overview
- The state requires every suspected, probable or confirmed snakebite to be reported by public and private hospitals, medical colleges and doctors, with serious and fatal cases sent immediately to district health officers or civil surgeons.
- Hospitals must record patient details, circumstances of the bite, treatment given and the exact number of anti-snake venom (ASV) vials used while tracking ASV availability, receipts and remaining stock in HMIS/DHIS-2 or the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).
- The Director (Hospitals) has been named the state-level nodal officer, district civil surgeons or district health officers will manage district reporting, and municipal medical health officers will act as nodal officers in city areas.
- Officials say the change will provide near-real-time data to map seasonal patterns and local hotspots, improve allocation of ASV supplies, and guide targeted training and referral networks after repeated high-burden years and recent deaths in Gadchiroli.
- State health data show about 1.29 lakh snakebite cases and roughly 655–656 deaths from April 2023 to March 2026, a toll experts say may be undercounted and that the new surveillance system is designed to correct.