On Tuesday night, seven people—four women and three men—were taken to the Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital for the treatment of snakebites. Doctors say most of the victims are either from the Kathmandu Valley or adjoining districts.

“Snakebite is still the number one cause of admission in our hospital,” said Dr Yuba Nidhi Basaula, director at the hospital. “Around 10 snakebite victims are currently receiving inpatient care in our hospital, and seven to eight seek emergency care every day.”

Snakebites and resulting deaths are common in Nepal, especially during summer.

Each year, around 2,700 people, mostly children and women from Nepal’s Tarai region, die of snakebites, according to a March 2022 report published in The Lancet, a leading international medical journal.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority, 74 people have succumbed to snakebites since Baishakh (mid-April) this year. Experts say that official figures could be just the tip of the iceberg, as many victims do not reach health facilities.

“Some people die on the way to health facilities, and many others in their sleep,” said Dr Sanjib Kumar Sharma, rector at the Dharan-based BP Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, who is also a snakebite expert at the World Health Organisation. “Most victims were women and children bitten while working in fields or playing outdoors. Such people may not reach the health facility in time, so they do not appear in government records.”

Health ministry officials say that around 80 percent of snakebite victims die before reaching hospitals.

People living in thatched-roof houses are also highly vulnerable, as snakes visit such homes in search of rats. The Ministry of Health and Population provides anti-snake venom free of cost through health facilities, but still scores of people are dying every year.

Doctors say the government's responsibility does not end with ensuring availability of anti-venom in health facilities or launching awareness drives.

“Health facilities must be in accessible areas, and victims should be assured of free treatment,” said Sharma. “Critical patients require advanced life support systems. Efforts should be made to ensure a life support system for serious cases.”

While health facilities are ill-equipped and short of anti-snake venom, there is also a lack of awareness among people in rural areas who often visit faith healers instead of a physician seeking treatment for snakebite. Doctors say the conservative belief is the primary reason for many snakebite deaths.

Experts see a greater need for raising awareness about keeping homes and surroundings clean, preventing children from playing in bushes and avoiding walking at night. If absolutely necessary, people must use torchlights while walking in the dark.

Of late, highly venomous snakes, generally found in the Tarai region's tropical climate, have also started appearing in hilly and mountainous areas. Dozens of venomous snakes have been rescued from Kathmandu Valley since the start of summer this year.

Experts say global warming may be pushing venomous snakes from the Tarai into hilly and mountainous districts, where they were previously never found.

Nepal is among the world’s most vulnerable countries to the climate crisis and has witnessed multiple extreme weather events over the past decade and a half.

Evidence suggests that maximum temperatures in Nepal are rising at a faster rate of 0.056 degrees Celsius a year, compared to the global average rise of 0.03 degrees Celsius a year.

Compared to districts of the Tarai region, those in hills and mountains have been witnessing a more rapid increase in daytime maximum temperatures, which could have helped venomous snakes to survive there, according to the experts.