Kerala HC issues direction to state on snakebite management and school healthcare

Kochi, Sep 26 (IANS) The Kerala High Court has issued detailed directions to the state government on snakebite management and basic healthcare in schools while disposing of a writ petition related to a 2019 snakebite incident involving a school student.

Delivering the judgment, a division bench of Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen directed the state to issue a circular within two weeks, notifying guidelines formulated at a high-level meeting held on September 1.

The guidelines are designed to streamline preventive and emergency responses to snakebite incidents in educational institutions across the state.

The High Court instructed that the guidelines be published in both English and Malayalam on the official government website, and that email addresses be provided to receive suggestions from the public.

Government departments and agencies must be clearly instructed on their roles and responsibilities.

Importantly, the court clarified that schools cannot be burdened with responsibilities, such as ensuring the availability of anti-venom, which fall under the purview of government departments.

"The entire responsibility cannot be placed on schools to perform tasks beyond their capacity, such as ensuring the availability of anti-venom. The circular should reflect these changes accordingly," it said.

The court also directed that the working group, formed on September 1, continue as a Joint Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary until a permanent monitoring framework is established.

The Committee will oversee compliance, review and update the guidelines, and may collaborate with the Kerala State Legal Services Authority and non-governmental organisations working in this field.

A standard operating procedure (SOP) will be devised for monitoring and reporting, with the Committee meeting at least twice a year.

Nodal officers will be appointed at the state and district levels to collect data and present it to the Committee.

Additionally, the high court asked the government to expedite the development of anti-venom vaccines in coordination with relevant agencies.

The state has also been directed to take steps within two months to include snakebite as a notifiable disease under the Kerala Public Health Act, in line with a 2024 communication from the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

With these directives, the High Court disposed of the petition, emphasising the need for structured, government-led interventions to improve snakebite prevention and emergency response in schools across Kerala.

--IANS

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