Venom and Voids: Addressing India's Snakebite Crisis

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people around the world are bitten by venomous snakes—but nowhere is the burden greater than in India, where snakebites remain one of the country's most overlooked public health emergencies. In this episode, we explore why a preventable and treatable condition continues to claim so many lives, tracing the challenges from rural poverty and limited healthcare access to unreliable data and the continued reliance on traditional healers. We examine the science behind antivenom, the government's efforts to improve emergency response, and the simple interventions that could save countless lives before a bite ever occurs. The story reveals that the deadliest part of a snakebite is often not the venom itself, but the inequalities that determine who receives timely care—and who does not.https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/06/19/why-india-has-so-many-snakebites