Prelims perspective: What need to learned

  • Snake Bite and its Impacts
  • Antivenom for Snake Bites

Mains Perspective: Note need to be prepared

Prelims Fact:

  • India has over 60 venomous snake species.
  • Snake bites account for nearly 58000 deaths in rural India annually.

What Need to be Known:

  • Snake Bite and its Impacts:
    • Snake venom are proteins and are harmful only when administered into blood– Are safe to consume orally.
    • Venom can be Hemotoxic like Vipers and Neurotoxic like Cobra and Krait.
    • Impacts: Can cause three types of damage to the human body- Blood disorders, Muscle paralysis and Tissue death.
  • Antivenom for Snake Bites:
    • A Standard Antivenom has been developed against the ‘Big Four Species’ of snakes in India (The Common Krait, Russell’s Viper, Saw-scaled Viper and Spectacled Cobra).
    • A cocktail of the venoms of the four species of snakes are injected into Horses in non-lethal doses and the Antibodies are extracted from the blood of the horses.
    • Snake venom for the antivenom production in India are mostly sourced from Tamil Nadu’s Irula Tribes (Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group).

Source: The Hindu