With the farm operations picking up owing to rain and flood water being released into canals, many snakebite cases are being reported in the villages along the bunds of Krishna River.
According to the officials, the hospitals in Avanigadda are receiving more than 20 snakebite cases on a daily basis. However, no death has been reported so far.
“A majority of the victims are farmers and agricultural labourers. Many cases are also being reported from the small hamlets and island villages,” say farmers.
Anti-venom supply
Krishna District Collector A.Md. Imtiaz has said that anti-venoms have been supplied to Avanigadda Community Health Centre (CHC), District Headquarters Hospital at Machilipatnam and Government General Hospital in Vijayawada and all Primary Health Centres (PHCs) in the district.
“We have kept adequate anti-venom doses ready. People need to shift the snakebite victims to the nearby hospitals immediately,” said District Medical and Health Officer I. Ramesh.
Many poisonous snakes, scorpions, centipedes and venomous bugs are venturing out of burrows in the fields and canal bunds. The Villagers say that snakes such as cobras and vipers get washed away in the flood waters to the habitations from forest areas.
‘More cases this year’
“On an average, 600 snakebite cases are reported in the region during the rainy season. However, the number is high this year,” says Avanigadda CHC Superintendent Parada Krishna Dora.
Many snakebite cases are being reported in the villages in Yerurumondi, Mopidevi, Mandapakala, Nagayalanka, Ghantasala, Challapalli, Koduru and Movva mandals. “All snakes are not dangerous. We are requesting the villagers not to approach quacks and shift the victims to the nearby hospitals,” Mr. says Dr. Krishna Dora.
He explains that cobras and viper species are the deadliest. Scorpions and centipede stings can also be dangerous. The victims should be rushed to a hospital in 10 to 15 minutes, the Superintendent says.
“To catch the rats and other prey, snakes are slithering into fields and farm hands busy in sowing operations suffer snakebites,” says Saikam Prasad, a villager.
A farmer, K. Ramakrishna says snakes are slithering into houses, thus creating panic among the villagers.
