Study of snake bite and factors influencing snake bite among the rural population of kancheepuram district

Introduction:India is an agricultural country, the majority of the population still lives in rural areas. The nature of work being agriculture, further increases the risk of snakebite among the rural population. This study attempts to evaluate the risk factors predisposing to snake bite and also to evaluate the awareness among the rural population about the precautions to be necessarily taken to reduce the risk of snake bite.

Methodology:A cross-sectional interview based survey was carried out among the rural residents of Kancheepuram district over a period of four months. Data related to history of snake bite in the volunteer or the family member, sighting of snakes, site of the bite, season of the bite, place of the bite, housing, living conditions, house design, kitchen, bathroom, lighting in the house and the bathroom, sleeping habits and safety precautions were studied and are reported.

Results:The study sample consisted of 184 households from Kancheepuram district. 71.2% of the subjects were farmers by occupation and 26. % of the subjects reported to have sustained snake or scorpion bites. 52.2% of the bites occurred at night and 43.5% of the bites were reported near their homes.A majority of the farmers had poor living conditions and 95.7% of them did not follow any precautions for snake bite.

Conclusion:Simple measures like improving the working and living conditions among the rural populations can reduce the risk of snake bites. Awareness has to be generated among the people to change their habits as snake bit is certainly a preventable disease.