Shri Narsiah, a high caste Brahmin was a humble railway station master of Polreddipalayam station in Andhra Pradesh who had saved the lives of hundreds of persons bitten by poisonous snakes such as cobras, vipers and the deadly kraits KR IRS 8 12 23
---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Rangarajan T.N.C. <[email protected]> Date: Fri, 8 Dec 2023 at 10:38 Subject: Re: More than 50% worldwide snakebite deaths are in India – what is the antidote? FORWARD To: Vanakkam Subbu <[email protected]>, Chittanandam V R < [email protected]>, YM <[email protected]>, Dr Sundar < [email protected]>, Venkat Raman <[email protected]>, Ravi mahajan < [email protected]>, APS Mani <[email protected]>, Ranganathan < [email protected]>, Venkat Giri <[email protected]>, SRIRAMAJAYAM <[email protected]>, Mathangi K. Kumar < [email protected]>, Srinivasan Sridharan <[email protected]>, Rama <[email protected]>, Gopala Krishnan <[email protected]>, Jambunathan Iyer <[email protected]>, Rajaram Krishnamurthy < [email protected]> I have heard of a stationmaster who would do mantra japam to cure victims of snakebites and the railways had even allowed a hotline from all stations to reach him On Friday, 8 December, 2023 at 09:19:44 am IST, Rajaram Krishnamurthy < [email protected]> wrote: It is a good article but California Mongabay is trying to publish their best. There are many factors about snake bites as I could see from the research articles I read as well as Guindy snake park talks I had long ago. 46000 are estimated as death in india whereas only double digit reported in Australia; China the largest is hidden; Population and percentage were to be taken, India and China will be behind Australia; also, people per area living is not considered as a vital factor; where in Australia 3 people live in India there are 400 plus which constitute target for snakes. Australia may not have snake deaths but highest in EEL deaths in water. Cause of death is the time it takes for people to die, in spite of the first aaid, to reach the hospital. Our Vedas have mantras and verses in Rig vedam and Atharvaveda. The world’s largest study of the causes and correlates of mortality in India has undertaken by the Registrar General of India (RGI). The study, called the Million Death Study (MDS) in India, is implemented in close collaboration with the Centre for Global Health Research at the University of Toronto, leading Indian and overseas academic institutions and ICMR. RGI-MDS conducted the first snakebite study in India and focused on the incidence of snakebites in five regions of India and 13 states. Around 46,900 people die due to venomous snakebites in India annually. These numbers are colossal, especially when compared with countries like the United States and Australia, which report 10 to 12 deaths each year due to venomous snakebites. Even though Australia is less populated, it has a larger number of venomous snakes. Only 20 to 30 per cent of snakebite victims in rural India seek treatment in hospitals, the study has suggested. The low incidence of snakebites and the paucity of data on mortality and socioeconomic burden make it difficult to understand the true impact of the condition, it noted. Over 84 million people live in the studied areas, covering states like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Tripura. Cases and deaths related to snakebite 2016-20 Year Snakebite cases Deaths 2016 178,433 1,068 2017 158,650 1,060 2018 164,031 8,85 2019 171,800 700 2020 126,927 626 Source: National Health Profile The article has been published in the international research journal PLOS ONE. The study is led by researcher Dr Jaideep C Menon from preventive cardiology and population health sciences at Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences and Research Center and Dr Omesh Bharti, state epidemiologist, department of health and family welfare, Himachal Pradesh government. The study will release real data on snakebite cases, mortality, the number of deaths and the socioeconomic burden of snakebites for the first time in the country, said Dr Bharti. This will help policymakers to prevent and control snakebites in India. “The country still does not know the actual snakebite burden, so there is a paucity of data when it comes to policymaking,” the doctor said. This is the first such study to survey snakebite cases in Southeast Asia, the researchers said. Sri Lanka carried out a similar survey but covered only 1 per cent of the population, whereas India’s study covered 6.12 per cent of the population. Snakebite case studies are being conducted in 31 districts across six geographical regions of the country: West, Central, South, East, North and North-East. Three districts of Himachal Pradesh — Kangra, Chamba and Una are also included. The only data on snakebites available in India is the mortality data from the RGI-MDS study (Registrar General of India — 1 Million Deaths Study) and another study on mortality from Bihar. Only two districts’ data on snakebites are available in West Bengal. *1* China <https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/china/> 1,413,142,846 2023 est. *2* India <https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/india/> 1,399,179,585 2023 est. *3* United States <https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-states/> 339,665,118 2023 est. * Australia* *India* Population: *25,979,000* *1,425,776,000* Inhabitants/km²: 3.4 433.7 Life expectancy males: Ø 81 years Ø 66 years Life expectancy females: Ø 85 years Ø 69 years CHINA world which is an associated with high global mortality and morbidity. Snake-bites are common in rural areas of tropical and subtropical regions, and they are more common in the South Asia, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Latin-America in the world. Snake-bites are considered as a neglected extrinsic disease by the World Health Organization. It is reported that five million people are bitten by snakes every year around the world and about 12,000 patient deaths and 400,000 were crippled or disfigured for life. Snakes are usually divided into non-poisonous snakes and poisonous snakes. There are more than three thousand species of snakes in the world, among which there are more than 660 kinds of poisonous snakes and about 60%-80% are nonvenomous bites. Poisonous snake-bite can cause severe local and systemic symptoms and signs, including systemic muscular toxicity, systemic bleeding, tissue damage, and acute kidney injury and even non-poisonous snake-bites have the possibility to cause moderate or severe damage, because there is a conceivable fear for a bite, such as numbness in the extremities, vasovagal shock, extreme agitation and loss of reason. Study showed that most patients of snake-bite were adult males who are working outdoors, such as farmers, herder, and soldier who were little knowledge of snake-bites before they were bitten. In China, most of the snakes are distributed in the south and southeast of the country. There are about one hundred thousand person-times of snake-bite every year, and the fatality rate of snake-bite is 5%-10%. The poisonous snakes with more than 50 species found are mainly distributed in Guizhou, Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, Yunnan, Sichuan and other places in the south of the Yangtze River. In recent years, the rescue level of critically injured snakes has been greatly improved. However, existing epidemiological data are limited and fragmented, and so, the true impact of snake-bites may be underestimated and the full burden of human suffering from snake-bites remains unknown. Snake-bite and their management have also some reports in China. There are still many problems in the treatment of snake bites, which are worthy of clinical attention. At present, China has not a unified standard for the diagnosis and treatment of snake-bite. Therefore, the prevention and treatment of snake-bite is still a huge challenge faced by all countries in the world. Zunyi of Guizhou province is a subtropical city in southwest China and the average altitude is 1-1.5 km. There are many mountains and mountain forests and people are often bitten by snakes and there is no study has been reported about of snake-bites in Zunyi city, China. This study investigated the snake-bite patients admitted to the emergency department of the affiliated hospital of Zunyi Medical University in recent years, and we report, for the first time, the incidence and distribution of snake-bite in Zunyi. We survey the characteristics of the incidence and distribution of snake-bite in this region. The goal of this study was to provide some epidemiological data and improve the medical knowledge of snake-bite and provide help for the prevention and treatments of snake-bite, so as to reduce the morbidity and mortality of snake-bite in China. Garuda Upanishad Introduction: The Hindu God "Garuda", an ardent devotee of Vishnu, the Supreme Being, is of the form of Eagle, and is supposed to have extreme control over snakes and other poisonous animals .This Upanishad, named after the Garuda, is supposed to contain certain vital mantras which can annihilate poison inflicted by any sort of snakes / animals. The Upanishad: Om ! That (world) is a complete whole. This (world) too is a complete whole. From the complete whole only, the (other) complete whole rose. Even after removing the complete whole from the (other) complete whole, still the complete whole remains unaltered and undisturbed. Om Shanti ! Shanti ! Shanti ! I will preach the Brahman – science. Brahman taught it to Naradha, Naradha to Brhatsena, Brhatsena to Indra, Indra to Bharadvaja, Bharadvaja to his puils who desired to preserve their life. (He taught them the science) which achieves this, which achieves good, removes poison, destroys poison, overcomes poison and annihilates poison: “Struck is the poison, annihilated is the poison, destroyed is the pouison; it is struck by Intra’s thunder-bolt, Svaaha ! May it originate from snakes, from vipers, from scorpions, from cankers, from salamanders, from amphibious animals or from rats”. “May you be Anantaka’s messenger, or be Anantaka himself ! May you be Vasuki’s messenger, or be Vasuki himself ! May you be Taksaka’s messenger, or be Taksaka himself ! May you be Karkotaka’s messenger, or be Karkotaka himself ! May you be Samkhapulika’s messenger, or be Samkhapulika himself ! May you be Padmaka’s messenger, or be Padmaka himself ! May you be Mahaa Padmaka’s messenger, or be Mahaa Padmaka himself ! May you be Elaapatraka’s messenger, or be Elaapatraka himself ! May you be Mahailaapatraka’s messenger, or be Mahailaapatraka himself ! May you be Kalika’s messenger, or be Kalika himself ! May you be Kulika’s messenger, or be Kulika himself ! May you be Kambalasvatara’s messenger, or be Kambalasvatara himself !”. For twelve years snakes do not bite him who hears this great science on the new moon night. The snakes do not bite him as long as he lives who, having recited this great science on the new moon night, wears it (as an amulet). He who teaches it to eight Brahmanas he releases (from the effects of snake bite) by merely touching with grass, with a piece of wood, with ashes. One who teaches it to a hundred Brahmanas, he releases by a mere glance. One who teaches it to a thousand Brahmanas, he releases by the mere thought – he releases it by the mere thought. Thus spake the exalted Brahman – the exalted Brahman. This is the essence of the Garuda Upanishad. Om ! That (world) is a complete whole. This (world) too is a complete whole. From the complete whole only, the (other) complete whole rose. Even after removing the complete whole from the (other) complete whole, still the complete whole remains unaltered and undisturbed. ATHARVA VEDAM: HYMN LXXXVIII A charm to cure a snake-bite 1Depart! thou art a foe, a foe. Poison with poison hast thou mixt, yea, verily poison hast thou mixt. Go to the serpent: strike him dead. Hymns to Cure Snake Bite From the Rig-Veda - Book I HYMN CXCI Water. Grass. Sun. 1. VENOMOUS, slightly venomous, or venomous aquatic worm,- Both creatures, stinging, unobserved, with poison have infected me. 2 Coming, it kills the unobserved; it kills them as it goes away, It kills them as it drives them off, and bruising bruises them to death. 3 Sara grass, Darbha, Kusara, and Sairya, Munja, Virana, Where all these creatures dwell unseen, with poison have infected me. 4 The cows had settled in their stalls, the beasts of prey had sought their lairs, Extinguished were the lights of men, when things unseen infected me. 5 Or these, these reptiles, are observed, like lurking thieves at evening time. Seers of all, themselves unseen: be therefore very vigilant. 6 Heaven is your Sire, your Mother Earth, Soma your Brother, Aditi Your Sister: seeing all, unseen, keep still and dwell ye happily. 7 Biters of shoulder or of limb, with needle-stings, most venomous, Unseen, whatever ye may be, vanish together and be gone. 8 Slayer of things unseen, the Sun, beheld of all, mounts, eastward, up, Consuming all that are not seen, and evil spirits of the night. 9 There hath the Sun-God mounted up, who scorches much and everything. Even the Aditya from the hills, all-seen, destroying things unseen. 10 I hang the poison in the Sun, a wine-skin in a vintner's house, He will not die, nor shall we die: his path is far: he whom Bay Horses bear hath turned thee to sweet meath. 11 This little bird, so very small, hath swallowed all thy poison up. She will not die, nor shall we die: his path is far: he whom Bay Horses bear hath turned thee to sweet meath. 12 The three-times-seven bright sparks of fire have swallowed up the poison's strength. They will not die, nor shall we die: his path is far: he whom Bay Horses bear hath turned thee to sweet meath. 13 Of ninety rivers and of nine with power to stay the venom's course,- The names of all I have secured: his path is far: he whom Bay Horses bear hath turned thee to sweet meath. 14 So have the peahens three-times-seven, so have the maiden Sisters Seven Carried thy venom far away, as girls bear water in their jars. 15 The poison-insect is so small; I crush the creature with a stone. I turn the poison hence away, departed unto distant lands. 16 Forth issuing from the mountain's side the poison-insect spake and said: The scorpion's venom hath no strength Scorpion, thy venom is but weak. K Rajaram IRS 811223 ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: *'gopala krishnan' via Thatha_Patty* <[email protected]> Date: Thu, 7 Dec 2023 at 19:30 Subject: More than 50% worldwide snakebite deaths are in India – what is the antidote? FORWARD To: Patty Thatha <[email protected]>, Kerala Iyer < [email protected]> More than 50% worldwide snakebite deaths are in India – what is the antidote? FORWARD Dear friends, The above article appeared in the opening page of Yahoo, I found quite interesting and thought of forwarding. Gopalakrishnan 7-12-2023. A key takeaway from a government study is the need for state-specific antivenoms and increased awareness , especially among rural communities. A1 Arathi Menon,Dec 05, 2023 · 07:30 pm More than 50% worldwide snakebite deaths are in India – what is the antidote? Ganesh VS from Chowdikatte, a village in Karnataka’s Mysuru district, had lost his wife to renal failure, a little over a year after she was bitten by a snake. In Karnataka, Rs 2 lakh is given as compensation for the loss of life from snakebite. However, Ganesh, who had spent Rs 15 lakh of his money on his wife’s treatment before she died, had to jump through hoops to claim compensation because the hospital recorded the cause of her death as renal failure, and did not mention snakebite, as it is difficult to prove that death was due to snakebite. Snakebite, in India, is a medico-legal case, where both medical and police departments are involved. In the case of a death from snakebite (in Sujatha’s case, the incident happened on the farm adjacent to her house), the revenue department that compensates the next of kin, demands a no objection certificate from the police department, as well as clearance from the hospital to rule out any foul play. “There is a lot of paperwork, red tape and bureaucracy involved, all for a compensation of Rs 2 lakh when the family may have already spent much more than that for treatment,” said Sumanth Bindumadhav, director of Humane Society International India. According to him, some doctors even refuse to treat snakebite cases due to potential legal hassle in the event of a death. India accounts for over half of global snakebite deaths With an average of 58,000 deaths from snakebites annually, which is more than half of all snakebite deaths in the world (81,000–1,38,000), India continues to be the country most significantly affected by snakebite cases. According to a comprehensive study in 2020, eight states – Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, undivided Andhra Pradesh (which includes Telangana), Rajasthan and Gujarat – carried the most burden of snakebite deaths accounting for more than 70% of deaths during the period between 2001 and 2014. The experts Mongabay-India spoke to said that that was a conservative estimate since many cases go unreported, as snakebite is not a notifiable disease. “Some cases do not even get to hospitals. They go to faith and herbal healers and quacks,” said Karnataka-based snake researcher Gerry Martin. As a consequence, the real scale of the problem remains obscure. “Most policymakers go by the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme data or the Central Bureau of Health Intelligence data, which are inaccurate,” said Bindumadhav, emphasising the need to declare snakebite as a notifiable disease. The Central Bureau of Health Intelligence reported a total of 13,043 snakebite deaths in the country from 2010 to 2020, which is far removed from reality, say the experts. Apart from deaths, snakebite envenomation also causes long-term health effects and has a high social and economic impact on families. Taking cognisance of the enormous health burden from snakebites, the World Health Organization recognised snakebite as a neglected tropical disease in 2017 and in 2019, set a target to halve the global burden of snakebite by 2030. “Meeting the global target is possible only if India performs better, considering more than half of all snakebite deaths are reported from India,” said Soumyadeep Bhaumik, head of Meta-research and Evidence Synthesis Unit, Health Systems Science, George Institute for Global Health, India. Understanding the scale of the problem India jumped on the bandwagon immediately with a national programme for prevention and control of snakebites that identified key areas of interventions and strategies to control cases in the future. The Indian Council for Medical Research set up a task force in 2022 and launched a nationwide survey to understand the incidence, mortality, morbidity and socioeconomic burden of snakebites in India. Dr Jaideep C Menon, professor of adult cardiology and public care at Amrita Hospital, Kochi, who heads the task force, said the survey has covered eight of the 14 states to be studied for the purpose and that the remaining states will be done by the end of this year. One of the takeaways from the study, according to him, is that the Indian polyvalent antivenom in the market doesn’t work across geographies and venom types, which points to a need for state-specific antivenoms. The study has various recommendations, including training community health workers, like the Accredited Social Health Activists, or ASHAs, in carrying the messages of effective prevention and management to vulnerable populations, considering more than 70% of cases happen in rural India. Early this year, the government also took the decision to appoint nodal officers in every state for snakebites. President of Mumbai-based Snakebite Healing and Education Society, Priyanka Kadam, said that the decision is going to be a game changer since there would be a better flow of funds for the purpose. “I’ve been working with the government on this issue since 2015, but there has never been funding for snakebites in the past,” she said. The states have also been asked to come up with action plans. Moreover, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change released a10-species-specific guidelines to address human-wildlife conflict where snake is featured as an animal in conflict. Policy gaps Experts point to multiple gaps in policies that need immediate intervention. Bindumadhav finds the lack of quality control of the antivenom in the country worrisome. “A batch of antivenom may not be as potent as you think it is because the Central Drug Standards and Control Organisation has no prescribed standard for potency for antivenom,” he said. Menon recommends extending the support of the government’s health insurance scheme, Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana for those below the poverty line, to all snakebite cases and not just the critical ones needing ventilator support as is the case now. Bhaumik, who was a part of the study on global mortality of snakebite envenoming, however, believes that the focus should be on preventing snakebite cases and a good portion of the global funding for the purpose must reach institutes, organisations and nonprofits as well as governments working on reducing snakebites in India. While focusing on better antivenoms and adequate compensation are essential, those expenses can be avoided by preventing snakebites, he said. He suggests community-based interventions like training the first responders of a community on prevention and making formal healthcare systems acceptable to community members. The essentials for the prevention of snakebites in rural areas like boots, torches and mosquito bed nets, need to be made available to the vulnerable. Another intervention would be home environment modifications. “Ensuring logs of woods are not stacked near the house or food waste not lying around close to the house may seem simple but go a long way in preventing snakebites,” Menon said. A study conducted by Bhaumik and colleagues in West Bengal’s Sundarbans and Hooghly districts on snakebite care during Covid-19 found that communities affected by snakebite are immensely challenged by weak healthcare systems, which was accentuated during the pandemic. The study also revealed a strong need for community-based programmes on snakebites. The conversation on snakebite management is often centred around better antivenoms or awareness building. While both are pertinent interventions, they are ineffective in the absence of an adequate healthcare system. “We can come up with very effective antivenoms but if there are no quality doctors or nurses to administer it or if the hospitals lack electricity or other facilities, these interventions are not effective,” said Bhaumik. Bhaumik also recommends making first aid kits easily available to the first responders who are trained in administering them. “People’s faith in traditional healers is not just cultural. The common understanding that with better awareness, the affected will approach primary healthcare facilities is not always true. The outcome often depends on the location and accessibility of the primary healthcare facilities,” he said. There are no magic bullets to deal with the burden of snakebite cases. The key, according to the experts, lies in a combination of interventions and sustained, collaborative efforts. This article was first published on Mongabay. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/727162498.915668.1701957607169%40mail.yahoo.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/727162498.915668.1701957607169%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZorHzx-RPkfSyQHPTCiAbOGrc_YOcXL6-qtvW%3Dn6K4s_Bw%40mail.gmail.com <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZorHzx-RPkfSyQHPTCiAbOGrc_YOcXL6-qtvW%3Dn6K4s_Bw%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/CAL5XZop0rpR_1iQg2Of%2Be86RvFOtFKUU8x%3DtTRAdcRw%3Df%3D35Hw%40mail.gmail.com.
