NEW DELHI: The days of unscientific methods to treat snake bites are numbered with the government set to initiate a national policy that will ensure fast and effective use of anti-venom, besides making it available to health care centres in backward villages.

The final consultation of experts from National Institute of Occupational Health (Ahm-edabad), Government General Hospital (Chennai), Amritha Institute of Medical Sciences (Kochi), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (Delhi), WHO and Indian Council of Medical Research, who are formatting the policy and treatment protocol, will take place on Thursday. The policy comes following the country's dubious distinction of having the highest incidence of snake-bite deaths in the world.

According to health ministry records, over 50,000 of the 2.5 lakh people, who are bitten by snakes annually, die. Those who survive the bite on the spot, subsequently die due to delay, unable to reach a hospital within the crucial golden hour or due to lack of treatment protocols, resulting in overdose of anti-venom.

The policy will help train doctors who have inadequate knowledge on how to deal with the neuro-toxic shock that the patient experiences following a snake bite besides providing guidelines for hospitals conducting research on the subject. The statistics are shocking, considering India is neither home to the largest number of snakes in the world nor is there a shortage of anti-venom in the country. Australia, home to the most venomous snakes in the world, on the other hand, recorded just one death in 2005.

India is home to 13 snake varieties which are highly poisonous of which five make up the deadly list of the common snakes biting humans - Common Cobra, Krait Cobra, Russells Viper, Saw Scaled Viper and Hump Nose Pit Viper.

The worst-affected states are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Orissa, Assam and West Bengal. A health ministry official told TOI, "The first few minutes after a snake-bite are crucial. Because there are no uniform guidelines, hospitals cause delay before the patient is put on effective treatment. At present, instead of going to the nearest hospital, villagers trust traditional healers who are often quacks." V V Pillay, AIIMS's chief analytical toxicologist, said in many case, even qualified doctors do not know how to deal with snake-bite cases.

"Often, anti-venom is administered, which results in trauma as the antidote can result in side-effects. Chemicals such as potassium permanganate and tourniquet, and also using the mouth suction method leads to gangrene and poisoning. The national protocol will, therefore, tell doctors exactly how to go about treating a snake-bite patient," Pillay added.