6 Die In A Week From Snakebites In Kerala Amid Heat Wave In India

2026-04-30 02:23:35

(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) The soaring summer temperatures in Kerala coincide with the breeding season of a variety of snakes, which sneak into homes to avoid the heat and prey on rodents.

The past few days have seen a surge in the number of snakebite deaths including that of a 75-year-old woman who was bitten while picking mangoes near her house in Idukki, Kerala's largest district.

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According to government officials, April 20 to April 26 was one of the deadliest weeks this season with six people losing their lives because of snakebites.

The victims included an eight-year-old boy in Thiruvananthapuram and another in Thrissur; there were two deaths in Alappuzha, and one in Kannur.

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Half a dozen more snakebites cases were also reported from Alappuzha, Kannur, Malappuram and Thiruvananthapuram districts. The health department has taken up a special action plan to prevent deaths by speeding up treatment. Veena George, the health minister, told the media that hotspots will be identified with hospitals having high caseload facilities being red-flagged and given additional backing.

Special treatment will be given to those suffering hump-nosed pit viper and Malabar pit viper bites. The minister also warned people from spreading misinformation.

The government has expanded access to antivenoms with more than a dozen government hospitals geared up to tackle the cases. Over 300 government and private hospitals have antivenom stocks, she added.

The minister revealed that over the past week, 75 snakebite cases and over 60 suspected ones were transported to hospitals through the '108 ambulance service'. Trained emergency medical personnel provide first aid in the ambulances, the minister said.

Snakes including the spectacled cobra, Russell's viper and common krait avoid the heat and enter homes in Kerala during summer, which is also the egg-hatching season for them.

Government officials assured there has been no alarming trend in snakebites this year. Annually, about 3,500 to 4,500 snakebite cases are reported in Kerala, with non-venomous snakes accounting for 75 per cent of the bites.

Muhammad Anwar, nodal officer of Mission SARPA, a programme of the state's forest department, told reporters that snakebite deaths have fallen substantially in recent years in Kerala.

There were 123 snakebite deaths in 2018-19, but they have declined considerably with 34 deaths in 2023-24 and a similar number in the following year; and it fell to 18 in 2025-26.

Pinarayi Vijayan, the chief minister, also referred to the decline in fatalities following the launch of Mission SARPA. He urged people to clear possible snake hideouts including vegetation, debris and wood piles.