Floods Cause Increase In Snakebite Cases In Nigeria

THERE is a spike in instances of snakebite throughout Nigeria as people and reptiles conflict in dry land because of displacement resulting from the floods throughout the country, a survey with the aid of using News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) has revealed.

NAN correspondents who visited regions susceptible to snakebites and remedy centres discovered a pointy upward push withinside the instances with greater deaths recorded because the floods blocked get admission to to remedy centres.

Managing Director of Echitap Group, manufacturers of Anti-Snake Venom (ASV) Nandul Durfa who spoke to NAN regretted that many lives have been being misplaced to the menace.

The former Chief Medical Director of University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, additionally decried the scarcity of ASV withinside the remedy centres.

“It is a frightening state of affairs. Snakes and people are all jogging farfar from the floods and might generally conflict withinside the dry lands withinside the conflict for space”, Durfa stated.

Meanwhile, facts from the Snakebite Research Hospital, Kaltungo, in Gombe State imply that 1,900 sufferers of snake bites were admitted because January.

According to the the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer, Suleiman Mohammed, 34 of the sufferers died.

He stated that maximum of the sufferers have been herders and farmers that have been by and large withinside the bush and generally at risk.

“When the rains get to the peak, we generally tend to have extra sufferers due to the fact maximum of the snakes are dislodged from their holes and hiding locations via way of means of the waters.

“So, while there’s flood, it’s far connected to incidents of snakebites due to the fact the flood has a tendency to transport the snakes farfar from their common habitat and that they frequently visit regions wherein human beings stay.”

He stated that six deaths were recorded in October with the relaxation unfold throughout January to September.

A studies officer with the hospital, Abubakar Saidu Balla, showed that there has been a spike in snakebite instances because of floods.

“Because of the devastating floods, farmlands are moist and the snakes visit better grounds wherein they blend with humans.

“The state of affairs is worse in riverine regions round Borno, Adamawa, Kogi, Gombe and Bauchi.

“The floods pressure snakes emigrate or bring them alongside and deposit them on the forests, houses or over river banks.

“The state of affairs is worsened through the truth that sufferers can not visit clinical centres to get interest due to the fact the roads and bridges are both washed away or flooded.

“In the agricultural regions, the bikes commonly help, however they can not journey thru the water now. Very frequently, sufferers attain remedy centres dead.”

Balla stated that it had grow to be risky to visit the farms, particularly in Gombe.

Reports from Lokoja in Kogi additionally indicated that snake assaults had emerge as not unusualplace with human beings dwelling in worry.

“We stay in worry of snakes, however we thank God that we’ve now no longer recorded an incident of snakebite,” Usman Agbaje, a resident, advised NAN.

He brought that visitors plying the Ganaja-Lokoja flooded street had regularly encountered huge snakes at the same time as withinside the boats.