Bengaluru: Karnataka Government has added snake bite in the list of Notifiable Disease, announced under Integrated Health Information Platform (IHIP), consisting of all the health facilities.

 According to a notification issued on Feb. 12, it is noted that, according to this classification, all Government and private hospitals and medical institutes must compulsorily notify all cases of in-patients and out-patients seeking treatment or dying due to snake bites by uploading their details on IHIP.

 This data will also help the Health and Family Welfare Department understand the burden of snakebites, track any seasonal and regional variations and prepare an adequate stock of the anti-venom required for treatment, noted Health Department officials.

Although it is not a ‘disease’ in the traditional sense, the under-reporting of cases and lack of awareness about free treatment prompted the Department to make it a notifiable disease, said D. Randeep, Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare Department.

The Human Society International (HSI) has lauded this move of the State Government, with Karnataka being the first State in India to declare snake bite as a ‘notifiable disease’.