An Epidemiological study of Deaths in poisonous snake bite in Eastern India

Abstract

Background: Snakes have always managed to grab human attention and have been an object of fear since historic civilization. Snake bite is an important occupational and rural hazard because India has always been a land of Exotic snakes. In West Bengal common poisonous snakes are Cobra, Viper and Krait. It is a fact that in spite of heavy morbidity and mortality, very little attention is paid by the clinicians to this occupational hazard. Aim: To study the prevalence of poisonous snake bites in part of West Bengal with reference to age, sex, occupation, part of body bitten, time of bite and seasonal variation, and the types of poisonous snakes common in this locality. Methods: This was a retrospective study conducted between1st April 2013 to 31st March 2014 at a tertiary health care center in West Bengal. Results: Most of the cases (66%) were belonging to the age group 15-34 years. Male are having twice the incidence than the female (M: F ratio 2.12:1). Maximum cases were from rural areas i.e.72 %. In 66 % cases snake bite occurred during night time and most of the cases i.e. 82% occurred during rainy season. Conclusion: Snake bite is a common life-threatening emergency in this area. Delay in hospitalization is associated with poor prognosis. Co-ordinated multidisciplinary approach is needed for proper management of snake-bite victims. Meticulous autopsy examination helps to find out the exact cause of death behind it.