For snakebite management, training crucial for doctors to administer antivenom

Failure to administer anti snake venom (ASV) at taluk hospitals, apparently because the victims failed to show any signs of snake envenomation, may have led to the death of two snakebite victims in the State on Thursday. However, the incidents have brought to focus the issues involved in the administration of ASV and patient management in cases where snakebite or envenomation cannot be confirmed.

The State government has ensured the availability of good quality ASV in all hospitals from taluk-level upwards. However, stocking ASV in hospitals without ensuring adequate facilities for its administration or providing critical training and confidence-building for doctors in snakebite management, does not help, as recent incidents show.