Monsoon fury forces ICMR to issue snakebite cure guidelines for health workers

NEW DELHI: As snakebite cases have started rising because of the rains, the ICMR is soon going to roll out a series of educational materials in Hindi, English and Odiya for medical officers in the community and public health centres due to their lack of knowledge on its treatment.

The educational material for health workers will also be published in other regional languages, especially in the states where snakebite cases are rampant.

The idea to come out with these educational materials was also to assist ASHAs, Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM) and other health workers to identify snake bites early, provide effective first aid, and timely referrals to the nearest healthcare facility.

The material has been jointly prepared by the Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute for Research in Reproductive and Child Health (NIRRH), Mumbai.

The booklet pictorially depicts the commonly found snake species, signs and symptoms of snakebite envenomation and outlines first aid and preventive measures for the same.

“We hope this material will help in high-burden areas across India and will prove effective in reducing deaths and disabilities associated with snakebite envenomation,” said Dr Rahul K. Gajbhiye, Scientist D and DBT Wellcome India Alliance, clinical and public health intermediate Fellow, Head Clinical Research Department ICMR-NIRRH.

“As part of our national snakebite implementation project, we developed medical officers’ flow chart for snakebite treatment. Medical officers in PHC and CHC should be able to treat snakebite cases using the document,” Gajbhiye told The New Indian Express.

“There was a lack of appropriate IEC material on snakebite and training manual for ANMs, MPW and ASHAS so we developed these educational materials in consultation with snakebite experts, herpetologists, scientists, physicians and community health experts,” he added.