Mitigating the snakebite crisis in India: a narrative review of efforts by the madras crocodile bank trust

 

Mitigating the snakebite crisis in India: a narrative review of efforts by the madras crocodile bank trust

Snakebite is a deadly yet severely neglected public health crisis. Each year, venomous snakebites kill up to 140,000 people per year and leave another 400,000 permanently disabled. About half of the world’s snakebite deaths occur in India, and an unknown number of snakes are killed out of fear and retaliation. This article examines the multifaceted efforts of the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust (MCBT), a leading grassroots organization tackling SBE through education, advocacy, research, and venom production. MCBT’s initiatives revolve mostly around education and outreach. These include the creation of educational films and posters in regional languages, which are distributed directly to communities. MCBT coordinates a network of so-called “snake rescuers” who remove snakes from houses and relocate them away from human dwellings, while delivering important snakebite prevention and first aid information to communities. MCBT coordinates training programs for rescuers and clinicians, sharing herpetological, first aid, and technical snake handling knowledge through a train-the-trainers model. Besides education, MCBT collaborates with state and national governments, including India’s first National Action Plan for Snakebite Envenoming (NAPSE). The organization also supports the Irular Snake Catchers’ Industrial Cooperative Society (ISCICS), India’s largest venom supplier, through technical and administrative support. Through this work, MCBT works to address sustainability and quality control challenges within the current venom extraction model. By detailing MCBT’s activities, key insights, and future directions, this article aims to shed light on the ongoing challenges of snakebite envenoming in India and the concrete steps being taken toward more effective, sustainable solutions.

Chandrasekharuni, G., Vasquez, C., & Whitaker, R. (2026). Mitigating the snakebite crisis in India: A narrative review of efforts by the madras crocodile bank trust. Frontiers in Amphibian and Reptile Science, 3, 1723953. https://doi.org/10.3389/famrs.2025.1723953