Welcome to the Snake Bite Life Support (SBLS ) Program!

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Snake Bite Life Support (SBLS ) is a pioneering educational program designed to bridge the critical knowledge gap in snakebite management and wilderness medicine amongst healthcare workers.

Over three transformative days, healthcare professionals embark on a journey to master the complexities of snakebite and wilderness care through our comprehensive SAVIOR and SAFETi workshops.

In regions where snakebites are prevalent, the ability to accurately diagnose, treat, and manage these emergencies is vital, yet often overlooked in traditional medical training. The SBLS program is meticulously crafted to empower medical professionals with the essential skills and knowledge to improve patient outcomes and tackle medical emergencies in the most challenging environments.

Join us in advancing the frontiers of snakebite care and wilderness medicine!

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*Photo credits: Sandeep Das

The story so far...

Jubilee Mission Medical College & Research Institute, Thrissur has been pioneering evidence-based medical practices since the groundwork laid by Dr. Varghese Paul, Dr. K B Mohan and Dr. Jerry Earali, as exemplified by their contribution to management in snakebites (Paul et al., 2003, Paul et al., 2004).

Building on this foundation, our institution has continued to innovate, with notable contributions studying the use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy (Korambayil et al., 2015), Clot Waveform Analysis (Abraham et al., 2018), the Viscoelastometry (Abraham et al., 2020), Factor Assays (Rafi et al, 2022), Modified Lee and White Method (Suseel et al., 2023).

Recent studies have explored diagnostic markers in snakebite-associated coagulopathy, including peripheral blood smear findings, point-of-care D-dimer and tranexamic acid-modified ROTEM, providing directions for further diagnostic and mechanistic research (Tomy et al., 2025; Mathew et al., 2026; Rafi et al., 2026).

Our clinical and survey research on hump-nosed pit viper envenomation has highlighted complications, antivenom use, snake identification and variations in clinical practice, emphasizing the need for region-specific evidence and training (Abraham et al., 2025a, 2025b; Abraham, 2018).

Educational research has evaluated the Snakebite Life Support (SBLS) workshop, first-aid knowledge and confidence among 2,462 Junior Red Cross cadets, and learning outcomes from a wilderness medicine elective. These findings inform improvements in healthcare professional training and community awareness (Sreekumar et al., 2025; Abraham et al., 2025c, 2026).

Faculty collaborations have also contributed to analyses of regional snakebite management, evidence on fresh frozen plasma for venom-induced coagulopathy and the reliability of AI-generated responses to snakebite queries (Abraham et al., 2025d; Ganessane et al., 2025; Saji et al., 2026).

Inter-departmental collaboration amongst General Medicine, General Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Plastic Surgery, Transfusion Medicine, Nephrology, Community Medicine and Critical Care, helped us in optimising snakebite patient care and advancing medical knowledge. Recognising that effectively reducing the impact of snakebite envenoming requires a holistic, transdisciplinary perspective, our institution fosters collaboration beyond traditional boundaries to encompass Zoology, Forestry, and Toxinology. It reflects a One Health perspective that connects patient care with local biodiversity, community needs and scientific evidence. SBLS-Scale builds on this experience through a standardised curriculum and instructor development intended to support consistent teaching across the field-to-facility continuum.