Maharashtra Makes Snakebite a Notifiable Disease After Student Deaths

The Maharashtra government has mandated the reporting of all suspected and confirmed snakebite cases and deaths to district health authorities, making the condition a notifiable disease under public health regulations.

The decision follows an incident on August 9 when three tribal girls died and three others were hospitalised after a venomous snake attacked them at a state-aided residential school in Japtalai village, Gadchiroli district. The government subsequently cancelled the school's operating license.

Health Minister Prakash Abitkar announced the directive on Tuesday, emphasising that mandatory reporting will strengthen disease surveillance, facilitate prompt medical intervention and enable better planning for anti-snake venom (ASV) procurement and distribution across healthcare facilities.

Under the new notification, all health institutions and medical practitioners must report snakebite incidents to their respective district health officers or district surgeons. Officials believe systematic reporting will transform snakebite prevention and management into a more coordinated, timely and effective public health response.

Snakebite remains a significant public health concern in rural India, particularly in forested and agricultural regions. The notification represents an effort to convert scattered incident data into actionable intelligence for disease prevention and resource allocation.