Snake bite mitigation

“Snakes are sometimes perceived as evil, but they are also perceived as medicine. If you look at an ambulance, there’s the two snakes on the side of the ambulance. The caduceus, or the staff of Hermes, there’s the two snakes going up it, which means that the venom can also be healing.” ~ Nicolas Cage

The Snake Conservation and Snakebite Mitigation is a public awareness campaign initiated and headed by The Madras Crocodile Bank (MCBT) with CSR support from USV Pvt. Ltd., Infosys Foundation and Deshpande Foundation. Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE) is associating with MCBT running this awareness campaign in Tirunelveli and Thoothukudi Districts. The awareness campaign employs the best techniques of the advertising industry to educate people on how to avoid snakes and highlight that antivenom is the only antidote to a venomous snakebite. The campaign educated around 5000 individuals including students, teaching and non-teaching staff of government and private middle, high and higher secondary schools in urban, sub-urban and rural.

This campaign followed a one-hour module in all the schools. The module comprises of

i.                    Introductory talk on Snakes (10 minutes)

ii.                   Deadliest ‘4’ Snake – Movie Screening (17 minutes)

iii.                 Summary of Deadliest Snake documentary movie (7 minutes)

iv.                  Preparatory questions on Snakebite First-aid (3 minutes)

v.                   Snakebite – Movie Screening (13 minutes)

vi.                 Summary of Snakebite documentary movie (7 minutes)

vii.                Queries (3 minutes)

In the campaign, the basics science about snakes, snakes identification and differentiation of common confusing snake species, Do’s and Don’ts about snake bite, avoiding snake bite, importance and making of Antivenom, snake myths, etc. were explained. Printed boards on Measure to avoid Snakebite and Snakebite first-aid was given to the head of the school, which was later hanged on the wall for student’s reference.

The Newspaper article reported about the commencement of the awareness campaign in Kovilpatti surroundings. 

The student’s most frequently asked questions are

i.  Will snake take revenge?

ii. Will rat snake and cobra mate/ dance/ live together?

iii. How much time a human can live after a poisonous snake bite?

iv. From our text book we have learned that as a first aid for snake bite, one should not sleep, should wash the bitten part, should tie the part above snake bitten area, but the documentary does not advices this, why? Is the book content wrong?

v.   Is there any five headed Naagam ‘Cobra’?

vi.  Will an aged cobra spit gem stones during thunder and lightning night?

vii.  Will snakes hide gem stones inside the cow dung?

viii. What will be the fate of antivenom injected in a victim’s body?

ix.   Whether ‘Ichagaaree Naagam’ is real?