Abstract
Nearly 46,000 people die from snakebite in India every year, so there is a real need for effective mitigating action. This depends on an understanding of snake behaviour in which the Irula excel. They are a traditional snake catching tribe and with the benefit of their knowledge it was possible to draw up a list of measures which could be taken to minimise contacts between snakes and humans.
Notes
1. B. Mohapatra, D. A. Warrell, W. Suraweera, P. Bhatia, N. Dhingra, R.M. Jotkar, P. S. Rodriguez, K. Mishra, R. Whitaker, P. Jha, ‘Snakebite Mortality Study: A Nationally Representative Mortality Survey’. Neglected Tropical Diseases Vol. 5. Issue 4 (2011).
2. V. R. Parshad, ‘Rodent Control in India’. Integrated Pest Management Reviews Vol. 4 (1999): 97–126.
3. J. H. Simmons and L. K. Riley, ‘Hantaviruses: An Overview’. Comparative Medicine Vol. 2 (2002): 97–110.
4. S. Chandy, S. Abraham, G. Sridharan, ‘Hantaviruses: An Emerging Public Health Threat in India? A Review’. Journal of Bioscience Vol. 33 (2008): 495–504.