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THE HINDU (Chennai, India) 16 September 08 Conference on snakes, venom
Kochi: An international conference on snakes, venom and snakebite is to be held at the Little Flower Hospital and research centre at Angamaly on September 20 and 21.
The conference is sponsored by the Medical Council of India and about 50 experts in the field from India and abroad are expected to take part in the conference.
Romulus Whitakar of Chennai would present the topic “Medically important snakes of India – identification and distribution” at the opening session which would be chaired by P. Easa, renowned scientist.
Dr. H. Janaka De Silva, professor of medicine in the University of Kelayia, Ragama (Sri Lanka), will speak on “epidemiology of snakes bite in Sri Lanka and the South Asia”.
Sam Kularatne of Paradeniya University of Sri Lanka is another key speaker who would explain the clinical features and identifying bite species in Sri Lanka.
T. Veerabasappagowda of Mysore Medical College and Dr P D Tanwar of Bikaner are the other speakers in the morning session of the conference on September 20.
From Singapore, Dr Manjunath Kini will speak on his findings in the research on snake venom.
Prof H S Bawasker of Maharashtra will detail the snake bites common in the Konkan area with special emphasis on viperidae bites.
Conference on snakes, venom

THE HINDU (Chennai, India) 21 September 08 Most snake-bite deaths due to ignorance: experts
Nedumbassery: The anti-snake venom (ASV) treatments should be based on the principle that the potency of snake venom of same strain differ with the areas of their inhabitation, pointed out speakers at an international conference on snakes, venom and snake bites that began on Saturday here at Cochin Durbar, near the Cochin International Airport.
The meeting concluded that unfounded beliefs and myths combined with the ignorance of the common man about first aid given in case of a snake bite is a major reason behind the high incidence of deaths from snake bites. According to the WHO, about 50,000 people die due to snake bites in India.
Experts in the seminar said that the potency of snake venom seems to be directly linked to the kind of food the snake feeds, and concluded that further research was required in this area.
The two-day seminar, organised by the Little Flower Hospital and Research Centre in association with the Medical Council of India, was attended by various subject experts and physicians.
The conference was inaugurated by Rev. Dr. Sebastian Vadakkumbadan, director, Little Flower Hospital in a function which was attended by B. Vijayaraghavan, chairman, Chennai Snake Park Trust, and Dr. Varghese Paul, C.R. Maity, H.S. Bavaskar and Dr. C.K. Eapen.
Most snake-bite deaths due to ignorance