Mysuru community health officers ready to handle snakebite emergencies | Bengaluru News

Bengaluru: Months after declaring snakebite as a notifiable disease, Karnataka has achieved a significant milestone in preparing and training its health officials to respond to such emergencies. Setting a new model, Mysuru has emerged as the first district in Karnataka to train 100% of its community health officers (CHOs) as first responders to snakebite cases, involving both preparedness and first aid. As many as 280 CHOs from all seven taluks of the district have been completely trained in identifying venomous snakes, recognising likely snakebite injuries, and understanding the dos and don’ts in case of a bite.CHOs posted at Ayushman Arogya Mandira often play a crucial role in providing healthcare services to rural communities, besides educating them and creating awareness about health benefits and the possible dangers of infection or snakebite. With more snakebite cases reported from rural Karnataka every year, a five-day workshop was held to train CHOs of Mysuru district to handle snakebite scenarios. The training was jointly organised by the surveillance wing of the health and family welfare department in collaboration with the Humane World for Animals India and the Liana Trust.With over 4,500 snakebite cases in the first six months of 2025, with 33 deaths, there has been a renewed focus on training health officials to handle snakebite cases. Among the districts, Mysuru reported the fourth highest incidents of snakebite (251).Dr Nagaraj DG, district surveillance officer, said, “CHOs, being at the grassroots level, are the first responders in addressing any health concerns among rural communities. This training was crucial in sensitising them towards snakebite cases. This hands-on training will go a long way in reducing mortality and morbidity due to snakebites and avoiding snake persecution while striking an ecological balance.“Gerry Martin, founder and trustee of Liana Trust, added that the role of community education in preventing snakebites and deaths is as important as developing next-generation therapies and improvising and building on existing protocols. “CHOs are great vehicles for change as they help in achieving that change in human behaviour,” he said.Sumanth Bindumadhav, director of wildlife protection at Humane World for Animals India, commented, “Snakebites can be prevented, human lives can be saved, and snake persecution can be avoided if community members have the right information. CHOs with field presence can be powerful forces of good with the right information and knowledge.”GFXSnakebites in K’taka2022: 3,412 cases & 17 deaths2023: 6,596 cases & 19 deaths2024: 13,235 cases & 101 deaths2025*: 4,635 cases & 33 deathsGFX 2Districts with most casesShivamogga: 289Mandya: 256Chikkaballapur & Hassan: 252 Dakshina Kannada & Mysuru: 251 Uttara Kannada: 245 — Source: Health & family welfare dept, GoK | * Data till June-end