Odisha govt rectifies mistake in test book on snake bite

Chapter on snakebite had prescribed for tying of injury area with rope to prevent spread of poison

Experts challenged the content as ‘myth’

By Chitta Ranjan Beura

BHUBANESWAR, FEB. 1: Following media expose of an error relating to snakebite remedies mentioned in Class-V ‘Environmental Science’ textbook, the Odisha government has rectified it on priority manner.

The students of Class-V will get the new textbook with change in the snakebite content from coming academic session.

The students of Class-V will get the textbook with change in the snakebite content from coming academic session.

This apart, as a new topic on disaster security has been placed in the environmental science textbook, the students will get chance to know about it, said the State Council Of Educational Research & Training (SCERT) assistant director Sabita Sahoo.

The error relating to remedies of snakebite was noticed by the media when a woman teacher sought to know whether the fact mentioned in the Class V environmental science textbook was true or false after she went through an article published in a daily Odia newspaper.

Even Snake Helpline’s Secretary Subhendu Mallick agreed to the fact that the remedies mentioned in the textbook were incorrect.

He also thanked the Odisha government and SCERT for making change in the error in the textbook

Generally, it is advisable for the person to tie a cloth or rope tightly above and lower portion of injury area of the victim after snakebite and later to release the poison mixed in blood by pressing the injury area. The textbook of Class-V also had mentioned the same myth about snakebite remedies.

However, Indian National Snakebite Management Protocol dismisses the myth. According to it, the process of releasing the poison by tying the injury area could be dangerous to the person bitten by a snake.

The poison never spreads into the blood after snakebite, rather it flows through glands under the skin of the victim’s body, said Dr Niranjan Padhi, Medicine Specialist at the Capital Hospital.

Based on the genuine causes and fact, the SCERT that publishes the textbooks from Class I till Class VIII has made changes in the error found in the textbook about the remedies of snakebite.