jiafm, 2010-32(2) april-june. - forensic medicine

J Indian Acad Forensic Med, 32(2) ISSN 0971-0973Original research paperIncidence of Snake Bites in Belgaum*Dr. Ashok Kumar Shetty, MBBS, MD, **Dr. Prasanna S Jirli, MBBS,MDAbstractBelgaum is surrounded by rivers and ever-green dense forests and is home for many wildcreatures. People here usually come in contact with these wild creatures, specially snakes. Hence aprospective study was undertaken to find out incidence of snake bites which were admitted to DistrictHospital, Belgaum over a period of one year from September 2000 to August 2001. District Hospital,Belgaum is a referral hospital which caters to the needs of public within a radius of 100 km.Out of 290 poisoning cases, 40 were snake bites. Among them 25 cases were poisonous snakebites. Themaximum number of patients were in the age group of 21 to 40 years and least were above 40 years.Males predominated, females in the ratio 3: 2. The bites were most commonly found on the lower limbs. Maximumsnake bite cases were observed in monsoon. Maximum victims were agricultural workers who work in out-fields.The maximum victims belonged to rural areas.Key Words: Snake bite, Agricultural Workers, Rural Areas, MansoonIntroduction:Snakes are long, thin reptiles which donot have legs and slither along the ground. Thereare about 2400 species of snakes in the world. Theylive almost everywhere, in deserts, forests,oceans, streams and lakes. They cannot survivein places where the ground stays frozen all theyear round like the polar regions or at highmountain elevations. Snakes serve an importantrole as a predator in the ecosystem and snakesexisting is a sign of healthy ecosystem. Theyhelp in maintaining population of rodents whichare a curse for a farmer‟s yield.Indian sub-continent boasts of housingapproximately 10 percent of the total snakespecies found in the world. One can find snakesin almost all the habitats in India. In India, thereare 216 species of snakes, of which only fourare venomous snakes namely, the cobra, krait,Russell‟s viper and saw-scaled viper. Snake-bitesare the common cause of morbidity and mortalityin tropical countries.It is a serious problem in many parts ofthe world, especially in South Asian countries.Snake-bites are the common cause of morbidityand mortality in tropical countries.Corresponding Author:Dr. Ashok kumar Shetty*Associate Professor, Dept. of Forensic Medicine,J N Medical College, Belgaum – 590010.Mobile No. 9448266972E-mail: drakshetty@rediffmail.com**Associate ProfessorIt is a serious problem in many parts ofthe world, especially in South Asian countries. InIndia only, almost 2,00,000 persons fall prey tosnake bites per year and 35,000 to 50,000 ofthem die. West Bengal, Maharashtra, UttarPradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala record thelargest number of snake bites in India.Belgaum is situated in the foothills ofthe Western Ghats and is surrounded by rivers,hills and dense evergreen forests. People aremostly into agricultural occupation and coming incontact with snakes is a natural scenario. Therehas been an incredible increase in snake bitepoisoning.Material and Methods:All snake bite cases admitted at DistrictHospital, Belgaum from September 2000 toAugust 2001 form the material for the study.Out of 290 poisoning cases, 40 were snake bites.The data was obtained from hospital case recordsand also by direct interrogation from relatives,friends and others accompanying the deceased. Aproforma was evolved to get uniform informationfrom all the above mentioned sources.The presence of two definite puncturewounds with progressive swelling, tenderness withpersistent bleeding was taken as a poisonous bite.Inverted „U‟ shaped or multiple teeth marks,non-progressive swelling with minimal bleedingwas taken as a non-poisonous snake bite.Haematoxic and neurotoxic signs and symptomswere also considered for differentiating poisonousand non-poisonous snake bites.139