Experts during a joint workshop stressed on the urgent need for having a standard protocol at BMC run hospitals for treating snakebite victims
Even as BMC's health department has joined hands in a community led initiative, which aims at reducing snake bite deaths in Mumbai, by encouraging hospitals to provide quick and efficient treatment to victims in and around Mumbai, experts during a joint workshop stressed on the urgent need for having a standard protocol at BMC run hospitals for treating snakebite victims.
On Wednesday a first of its kind session was organised by the Hindu Hriday Samrat Balasaheb Thackeray Trauma Centre (HBTMC) and co-ordinated by Department of Forensics, Dr RN Cooper Hospital (RNCH) attended by around 60 doctors from three Municipal hospitals where a detailed discussion took place on 'Advances in Snakebite treatment' to help save lives of as many as snakebite victims possible by adopting right methods of treatment.
Speaking to the doctors, Kedar Bhide a well known herpetologist and founder of Reptile Rescue and Study Centre (RRSC) shared that as per statistics available there was one snake bite death for every two deaths resulting due to AIDS or Malaria in the country yet the issue was not given the kind of attention it deserved. Infact he claimed that it comes as a surprise to many but snakebites and even deaths resulting due to it were quite common in the urban Mumbai, which was a major reason for initiating the Zero Bite Initiative in the city.
“Doctors should not be wasting time in trying to identify the snake species first but should start the treatment by diagnosing the symptoms shown by the victim as most of the time snake identification was not easy or reliable if one is not an expert,” he shared with the doctors gathered stressing on the need for a standard protocol, which will prove to be extremely effective in treating victims.
Meanwhile Dr Freston Sirur, MD in emergency medicine who has been working extensively on treating snake bite victims addressing the doctors during the session also discussed several ways and methods to be followed while treating the patients even specifying about the doses of Anti Venom Serum (AVS) to be given. “Its extremely important to keep monitoring the patients health condition even after the AVS doses are given,” he said.
Bhide speaking to DNA said that there was already set protocol for treating snakebite victims by World Health Organisation (WHO) as well as a National Protocol and now that BMC had shown such positive attitude towards this initiative, the Zero Bite Initiative team plans to meet the top brass of the medical department to push for setting a protocol at BMC level hospital and other necessary changes that will help in managing the snakebite cases effectively.
Dr. Ganesh Shinde, Dean HBTMC and RNCH said that it was important for the medical practitioners to keep themselves updated with the current research in the field of snake bite and its treatment. “We have assured them of full support in the future and we work towards organising more such sessions and work closely with an aim of saving as many as snake bite victims as possible,” said Shinde.
Dr Rajesh Sukhdev, Head of Forensics at Cooper hospital said that the entire session was very informative and a sort of eye opener even for the doctors.
What is Zero Bite Initiative:
The Zero Bites Initiative, Aarey Chapter is a campaign initiated by various animal welfare organisations, herpetologists and like minded individuals to create awareness about snakes and reduce snake bites and severity of the bites in and around Aarey Colony. The initiative is supported by the Thane Forest Department.
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