Maharashtra Makes Snakebite a Notifiable Disease

Maharashtra declared snakebite a notifiable disease on 18 August 2026 under the state public health framework. The order makes reporting mandatory for government hospitals, private hospitals, medical colleges, and healthcare practitioners for every suspected, probable, or confirmed case and death.

Notifiable Disease

A notifiable disease is a disease that health authorities require medical institutions to report to the government. In India, notifiable disease lists are used for surveillance, outbreak tracking, and public health planning under state and national health systems.

Reporting and Surveillance Mechanism

The Maharashtra notification requires institutions to record the date and place of the bite, patient age and gender, symptoms of envenomation, and the exact quantity of Anti-Snake Venom administered. The cases are to be reported through the Health Management Information System and the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme.

The state-level oversight is assigned to the Director of Hospitals, while district surgeons and district health officers function as nodal officers at the district level. This structure creates a state-to-district reporting chain for case registration and follow-up.

Anti-Snake Venom and Clinical Data

Anti-Snake Venom, or ASV, is the standard treatment used in India for venomous snakebite. The notification links ASV reporting with patient records, which includes treatment logs and dosage details for each case.

Snakebite envenomation is a medical emergency caused by venom injected through a snake bite. India records a large share of global snakebite deaths, and rural and tribal areas remain high-risk zones because of occupational exposure and delayed access to treatment.

Background to the Decision

The policy change followed a snakebite incident on 9 August 2026 at a state government-aided residential school in Japtalai village in Gadchiroli district. Three tribal schoolgirls died and three others were hospitalised after the incident.

The state government later cancelled the licence of the residential school in Japtalai village, Gadchiroli on 19 August 2026.

Important Facts for Exams

• Snakebite is treated as a public health and emergency medicine issue in India because envenomation can cause death within hours.
• Health Management Information System is a digital platform used for health data collection and monitoring in India.
• Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme is India’s disease surveillance system for tracking and reporting health events.
• Anti-Snake Venom is the only specific treatment for snakebite envenomation in many cases.

Snakebite in Maharashtra

Maharashtra recorded about 1.29 lakh snakebite cases and 655 related deaths between April 2023 and March 2026. The notification is intended to create a statewide database for case tracking and treatment planning.