Epidemiological profile of snake-bite cases from Andhra Pradesh using immunoanalytical approach.

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE Snake-bites are the common cause of morbidity and mortality in tropical countries. In India, there are 216 species of snakes, of which only four are venomous snakes (cobra, krait, Russell's viper and saw scaled viper). This study was undertaken to find out the epidemiological profile of snake-bite incidences in the State of Andhra Pradesh, based on the data collected from State Forensic Science Laboratory, Hyderabad. METHODS Data from 1379 snake-bite cases were collected from case reports for a 5 yr period (1999- 2003) that included age and sex of the victim, district, month of incidence, time of incident, death of a victim and the time point of analysis. On the basis of the forensic data, specimens were collected from forensic medicine department, during rainy season and were analysed for the venom antigens (cobra and krait) by ELISA method. RESULTS The peak number of snake-bite cases were seen during June-September. Majority of the cases were observed in the age group 21-50 yr (71%). Higher incidence of snake-bite was recorded in males (76%). Of the 22 cases analysed by the ELISA, 6 tested positive for cobra venom, while 8 cases tested positive for krait venom, the remaining specimens tested negative for both cobra and krait venom. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSION Evaluation of forensic specimens (autopsy & biopsy) of human snakebite victims based on specific molecular epidemiological tool like ELISA gives a true estimate of the incidence supplementing clinical and circumstantial evidence.