Elusive elapid: Biogeographic venom variation in Indian kraits and its repercussion on snakebite therapy

Snakebite is a major public health concern in many parts of the world, including India, where over 58,000 deaths occur annually due to this highly neglected tropical disease. The common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), one of the ‘big four’ Indian snakes, is responsible for the second-highest number of snakebite-related deaths in the country. The venom protein composition of common krait venoms from different locations were investigated. Venoms were pre-fractionated using RP-HPLC and SDS-PAGE, and subjected to mass spectromentry analysis. The relative abundance of each toxin family was estimated and compared across different locations.