VIJAYAWADA: With snake-bite cases continuing to claim lives in Andhra Pradesh, the state government has begun a pilot project to keep anti-snake venom (ASV) in 108 ambulances, allowing emergency medical technicians to administer it under the supervision of doctors at the Emergency Response Centre in Mangalagiri.
The initiative is aimed at ensuring that snake-bite victims receive life-saving treatment during the crucial ‘golden hour’. The move follows 3,104 emergency calls related to snake bites received since June 2025. Three victims from Kadapa, Nandyal and Kurnool districts have already been saved after receiving ASV in 108 ambulances under the pilot project.
Health minister Satya Kumar Yadav said the health department had equipped 108 ambulances with ASV so that treatment could begin before victims reach hospital.
Under the system, a 108 ambulance responds to a snake-bite emergency and takes the victim on board. The emergency medical technician (EMT) assesses the victim’s condition, while a doctor at the Emergency Response Centre monitors the patient live through a dome camera installed in the ambulance.
Based on the victim’s condition, the doctor advises the EMT whether ASV should be administered. The victim is then shifted to the nearest hospital for further treatment.
NTR Vaidya Seva Trust chief executive officer K.V.N. Chakradhara Babu said the government was considering keeping ASV in all 108 ambulances in the state in view of the growing number of snake-bite cases. Each vial costs `584.64, and the government has so far procured ASV worth `5.28 lakh, he said.
He clarified that only EMTs were authorised to administer ASV and that they could do so only on the advice of the ERC doctor after the patient’s condition had been assessed remotely.
The need for faster intervention is underlined by the state’s snake-bite data. Andhra Pradesh recorded 4,573 snake-bite cases and 41 deaths in 2024, followed by 4,702 cases and 13 deaths in 2025. In 2026, the state has recorded around 3,000 cases and three deaths so far.
The state has also improved the proportion of snake-bite victims shifted to hospitals through the emergency ambulance network. The figure rose from 34 per cent before June 2025 to 95 per cent subsequently, officials said, helping ensure that victims reach hospitals within the golden hour.
Doctors said symptoms requiring immediate medical attention include drooping eyelids, weakness of the eye muscles, breathing difficulty, falling oxygen saturation, difficulty swallowing, speech problems and failure of blood to clot within 20 minutes. Bleeding from the nose, mouth or old wounds, swelling of the bitten limb, darkening or blackening of the affected area and necrosis are also warning signs.
Guntur Government Hospital medical superintendent Dr Durga Prasad said the hospital received one or two snake-bite cases a week, with victims often being brought after first seeking treatment at nearby primary health centres.
NTR district medical and health officer Dr Sravan Babu said the district was receiving 15 to 20 snake-bite cases a month and ASV was being administered to those requiring it.
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