Researchers have documented the first confirmed snakebite envenomation and subsequent human deaths in India caused by the venomous Caspian cobra (Naja oxiana), which have never previously been reported in the country, according to a case report published in Epidemiology International, a peer-reviewed journal.
The study titled ‘First Report of Deadly Bites by Caspian Cobra (Naja oxiana) From India’ by Bharti O.K., Menon J.C., Phull A., Joy S., Sharma V. and Malhotra A. details two fatalities and two survivals from bites by the species, also called the Central Asian cobra, in Himachal Pradesh’s Chamba’s Pir Panjal mountain range.
“Envenomation and subsequent deaths from the Caspian Cobra (Naja oxiana) have never previously been reported from India. While collecting data for the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) project on snakebites, we came across two deaths due to the bite of N. oxiana,” said Omesh Kumar Bharti of Himachal Pradesh’s Directorate of Health Services, who led the study.
“Deaths due to N. oxiana have never been previously reported from India. Naja oxiana is primarily found in Central Asia, with high human mortality resulting from envenoming. This species has been reported from Pakistan and Kashmir and was recorded in 2019 from Tissa block of Chamba district, Himachal Pradesh. Naja oxiana has been shown to have rapidly expanded its range from Iran towards the northeast and it has been observed to be slowly expanding its range in Chamba towards lower elevations as reported by local rescuers,” noted the study.
The first death occurred in July 2020 in Ullansa village, when a 40-year-old man was bitten twice on the leg while spraying an apple orchard. He was taken to a nearby faith healer. However, his condition continued to worsen and on the third day after the bite, he was taken to the Civil Hospital Bharmour, where he was seen by the doctor and was found to lack a detectable pulse. A second victim, a 62-year-old man from Bhanjraru village, was bitten in July 2021 while walking to work and collapsed within half an hour. He died before reaching Civil Hospital Tissa; a post-mortem attributed the death to the venom’s neurotoxic effects, the study said.
Snakebite envenoming (SBE) remains a major cause of preventable mortality in rural India. The big four species, namely the spectacled cobra (Naja naja), Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii), common krait (Bungarus caeruleus) and saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus), are responsible for the majority of snakebite envenomation and deaths in the country. The commercially available anti-snake venom (ASV) correspondingly covers these species only, it said. The study also noted that the available anti-snake venom (ASV), designed to counter the ‘big four’ species responsible for most snakebite deaths nationally, does not effectively neutralise the venom components of N. oxiana.
The researchers said that there is a need to create greater community awareness about the danger of this species of snake in affected areas and educate them about ways to reduce the risk of being bitten.
