Snakebite Deaths Surge in Rural Vidarbha Amid Healthcare Gaps

thenewsdirt
3 days ago
6 min read

Close-up photo of a foot with two visible snakebite fang marks, while a snake, a cobra, stands besides the foot. — A snakebite wound on a victim’s foot, highlighting the serious injury caused by venomous bites

Across Vidarbha’s farming heartland, monsoon rains bring an unwelcome surge of venomous snakes into fields, villages and even towns.

Local doctors and rescue workers warn that these seasonal floodings push reptiles out of hiding, forcing them into contact with people.

For thousands of field labourers, plantation workers and villagers, a snakebite can quickly become life-threatening. Rural households now endure each monsoon with the fear that one bite, compounded by travel and treatment delays, could be fatal.

Recorded Deaths and Case Patterns

Agricultural districts in Vidarbha have seen dozens of fatal snakebites each year from 2021 through 2025, but official data may undercount the true toll.

State health statistics show that from April 2021 to May 2024, Maharashtra’s public hospitals treated 127,297 snakebite cases with 686 reported deaths. Vidarbha’s Nagpur and Akola divisions alone accounted for 22,917 of those cases and 202 deaths, about 18 percent of the state’s cases and nearly 30 percent of its deaths.

Notably, Nagpur division had relatively fewer bite cases than other regions, yet recorded 127 fatalities, the second-highest total in the state after Nashik. These figures exclude private and many other government hospitals, and countless victims die at home and are never counted. The pattern is clear. Vidarbha’s rural communities carry a heavy share of snakebite deaths.

Local hospitals report sharp spikes in snakebite admissions during the rainy months. In Nagpur, the Government Medical College and Hospital treated 179 snakebite cases in the first half of 2025, with numbers doubling in June and July as the monsoon set in.

Similarly, by July 2025, the hospital had admitted 179 snakebite victims for the year, and all were saved thanks to prompt treatment and ready antivenom supplies. In other districts, media accounts detail one or two fatalities each month during monsoon season.

In November 2025 alone, five people in Nagpur and nearby districts died of snakebites, according to local reports. Another recent case involved a 55-year-old woman in Akola bitten by a common krait at daybreak. Despite being rushed to the hospital, she did not survive. This was not an isolated incident. Reports noted two snakebite deaths in the Akola district within fifteen days.

Experts say the majority of fatalities occur among working-age farmers and labourers. Data from Nagpur in 2025 showed that most bite victims were aged between twenty-one and sixty, and most deaths also occurred in this group.

This reflects the reality that fieldwork such as sowing, harvesting or clearing vegetation exposes people to snake habitat, especially at dawn or dusk. Snakes implicated in these deaths include highly venomous species common to Vidarbha.

Cobras and vipers caused most fatalities in Nagpur district during 2025, while herpetologists note that Russell’s vipers, kraits and cobras are widespread across the region. During floods, these snakes seek dry shelter, often ending up in backyards, gardens and village edges.

Medical Access and Treatment Delays

Snakebite victims in Vidarbha often live far from advanced hospitals. In several fatal cases, the sequence has been the same.

A local clinic first attends to the victim but lacks antivenom or intensive care facilities, leading to a referral to a city hospital. By the time the patient arrives, often after hours of travel, it is too late.

In Chandrapur district, a father-son duo bitten at night were first taken to a rural hospital that could not provide antivenom. They were then sent to the district hospital two hours away.

The father died on the way, and the child only narrowly survived. Health officials acknowledge that most primary health centres and small hospitals in Vidarbha do not stock the full supply of snake antivenom needed for emergencies.

Due to the absence of antivenom drugs at primary health centres, rural hospitals and sub-district hospitals, patients fail to get timely treatment and are rushed to district headquarters in emergencies, delays that often prove fatal.

Superstition and misinformation compound the problem. Many victims or their families first seek help from local healers or rely on herbal concoctions.

Wildlife groups working on snakebite awareness warn that in some villages, victims are taken to faith healers first and only brought to hospitals after their condition worsens, by which time it becomes difficult for doctors to save them.

In Nagpur city, reports from 2025 indicate that in many fatal cases, patients reach hospitals very late because families waste crucial time on home remedies or rituals. Activists point out that delayed arrival for proper medical care remains the most consistent factor behind snakebite deaths.

Even when patients reach large hospitals, the window for survival is narrow. Doctors at government medical colleges in Nagpur stress that quick treatment and adequate supplies save lives.

Hospital authorities reported that all snakebite cases treated in 2025 survived because antivenom stocks and trained staff were available around the clock.

Snakebite, they emphasise, is treatable if victims are brought to hospitals in time. Another hospital report noted a survival rate of over ninety seven percent, attributing low mortality to rapid treatment and sufficient antivenom availability.

These outcomes demonstrate what prompt care can achieve, while also highlighting the gap faced by those who never reach such facilities.

Infrastructure and Awareness Barriers

The reality remains that rural Vidarbha lacks the infrastructure for swift antivenom therapy.

Even when official records show antivenom availability, it is often concentrated in larger hospitals rather than village level facilities.

Analysis of public health data confirms that while stocks may exist on paper, deaths continue because treatment is delayed. One factor is limited training. Health workers at village clinics are not always equipped to identify or treat snakebite cases immediately. In many instances, staff refer patients to bigger hospitals instead of administering antivenom as an initial response. This delay can be fatal.

Transport and communication barriers further compound these gaps. In remote parts of Vidarbha, roads are poor, and ambulances are limited.

Villagers report waiting long periods for emergency vehicles, while mobile connectivity is unreliable in interior areas.

During this time, venom continues to spread through the body. Families often resort to transporting victims on motorcycles, tractors or private vehicles, losing critical time. These logistical barriers are rarely captured in official data, but local accounts show their deadly impact.

Each monsoon, the cycle repeats. Rains push snakes out of their shelters, emergency calls increase, and rural families brace themselves for the risk.

Despite repeated warnings from medical professionals that early treatment is critical, access to timely care remains uneven.

For many communities, the danger is constant and largely unnoticed beyond district borders. The snakebite crisis continues to unfold across farms and villages, driven by distance, delay and gaps in medical access.

FAQs

Q. Why are snakebite deaths so high in Vidarbha?

A. Snakebites are common in Vidarbha because the region’s monsoon-flooded fields and forests bring venomous snakes into close contact with people. Poor awareness and delays in seeking proper medical care add to the toll. Experts note that many victims first visit local healers or try home remedies, losing critical time before getting to a hospital. Together with the prevalence of dangerous snakes like vipers and kraits in agricultural areas, these factors lead to a disproportionately high number of fatalities in rural Vidarbha.

Q. How many snakebite cases and deaths occur in Vidarbha?

A. Official health department records for April 2021–May 2024 show Maharashtra saw about 127,000 snakebite cases and 686 deaths. Nagpur and Akola divisions of Vidarbha alone reported 22,917 cases and 202 deaths in that period. That means these two districts accounted for nearly 30% of the state’s snakebite fatalities. Media reports from 2024–25 also describe dozens of cases each year in Vidarbha’s districts; for example, Nagpur district saw at least 17 deaths in 2025. The numbers are likely higher if unreported home deaths are counted.

Q3. What healthcare gaps affect snakebite treatment in rural Vidarbha?

A. Rural areas of Vidarbha often lack key emergency facilities for snakebites. Many primary health centres and small hospitals do not stock sufficient antivenom or lack trained staff to administer it immediately. This forces victims to be rushed to distant district hospitals, a delay that can be deadly. Transport is another problem. Villagers report slow ambulance response times and long travel distances.