The Karnataka government on Friday published the State Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (SAPSE), becoming the first State in the country to release a comprehensive roadmap dedicated exclusively to tackling snakebite. The government simultaneously launched the State Action Plan for Rabies Elimination (SAPRE), reiterating its target of achieving zero human deaths due to dog-mediated rabies by 2030.
Launching the plans under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme, Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao said the objective was to ensure that “no life is lost due to delay in treatment or lack of access to medicines.”
Snakebite, classified by the World Health Organisation as a Neglected Tropical Disease, continues to pose a significant public health challenge. In India, estimates suggest around 50,000 deaths each year, besides a large number of survivors left with amputations or permanent disabilities. Public health experts have pointed out that the actual burden is likely higher, as many victims do not reach formal healthcare facilities.
Karnataka’s figures
In Karnataka, recorded cases of snakebite envenoming and deaths have seen a sharp rise from 6,596 bite cases and 19 deaths in 2023 to 13,235 bite cases and 100 deaths in 2024 and 16,805 bite cases and 154 deaths in 2025. Attributing the increase in number of cases recorded to increased surveillance, Padma M.R., Deputy Director (State Surveillance Unit) said this follows Karnataka declaring snakebite envenoming cases and deaths notifiable under the Karnataka Epidemic Diseases Act, 2020, in February 2024.
