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<p><b>New page</b></p><div>{{Other uses|Big four (disambiguation){{!}}Big Four}}<br />
The four [[venomous snake]] species responsible for causing the greatest number of medically significant human [[snake bite]] cases on the [[Indian Subcontinent]] (mostly in [[India]]) are sometimes collectively referred to as the '''Big Four'''. They are as follows:<ref>{{cite journal | title=Green medicine as a harmonizing tool to antivenom therapy for the clinical management of snakebite: The road ahead | journal=Indian J Med Res | year = 2012 | volume= 136| issue=1| pages= 10–12 | first=Ashis K. | last=Mukherjee | pmid=22885258 | pmc=3461710}}</ref><ref name="Whi90">Whitaker Z. 1990. Snakeman. Penguin Books Ltd. 192 pp. {{ISBN|0-14-014308-4}}.</ref><br />
#[[Common krait]], ''Bungarus caeruleus''<br />
#[[Russell's viper]], ''Daboia russelii'' <br />
#[[Echis carinatus|Indian saw-scaled viper]], ''Echis carinatus''<br />
#[[Indian cobra]], ''Naja naja''<br />
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<gallery><br />
File:Bungarus caerulus.jpg|''[[Bungarus caeruleus]]'', the common krait<br />
File:Daboia russelii A Chawla01.jpg|''[[Daboia russelii]]'', Russell's viper<br />
File:Saw-scaled Viper (Echis carinatus) Photographed By Shantanu Kuveskar.jpg|''[[Echis carinatus]]'', the saw-scaled viper<br />
File:Cobra.jpg|''[[Naja naja]]'', the Indian cobra <br />
</gallery><br />
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[[File:Snakebites by species in India (2020 study).jpg|thumb|Snakebites by species in India <ref name="elife">{{Cite journal |last=Suraweera |first=Wilson |last2=Warrell |first2=David |last3=Whitaker |first3=Romulus |last4=Menon |first4=Geetha |last5=Rodrigues |first5=Rashmi |last6=Fu |first6=Sze Hang |last7=Begum |first7=Rehana |last8=Sati |first8=Prabha |last9=Piyasena |first9=Kapila |last10=Bhatia |first10=Mehak |last11=Brown |first11=Patrick |date=2020-07-07 |title=Trends in snakebite deaths in India from 2000 to 2019 in a nationally representative mortality study |url=https://elifesciences.org/articles/54076 |journal=eLife |language=en |volume=9 |pages=e54076 |doi=10.7554/eLife.54076 |issn=2050-084X |pmc=7340498 |pmid=32633232}}</ref>]]<br />
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According to a 2020 study that did a comprehensive analysis of snake bites in India, Russell’s viper accounted for 43% of the snakebites in India, followed by kraits (18%), cobras (12%), hump nose viper (4%), saw-scaled viper (1.7%), and water snake (0.3%). The rest (21%) were of unidentified species.<ref name=elife /><br />
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==Treatment==<br />
A [[snake antivenom|polyvalent serum]] that effectively neutralizes the venom of all of the Big Four snakes is widely available in India, and is frequently administered to save lives.<br />
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==References==<br />
{{reflist}}<br />
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[[Category:Snakes]]<br />
[[Category:Venomous snakes]]<br />
[[Category:Reptiles of India]]</div>>Keith D