Bunjel Sunar was bitten by a snake on Friday night while he was sleeping but he only knew about it the next morning. The 58-year-old died at his home in Dodhara-1, Kanchanbhoj, having been left at the mercy of a shaman at his house instead of being taken to the hospital. [break]
Similarly, a student of BBS third year at the Siddhanath Multiple Campus died five days after being bitten by a snake.
Damodar Tiwary was taken to Khatima, India, after he could not be cured at the Mahakali Zonal Hospital but he died there five days later after an expense of more than Rs 100,000. Nine-year-old Abhishek of Bhimdatta Municipality 3 also succumbed to snake bite as he could not be taken to hospital on time. Likewise Baldev Joshi, a guard at Nabil Bank, and a youth from Pipladi also died of snake bite recently.
These deaths have come in the last 10 days raising fears among the locals in the region. Attacks of cobra, krait and viper have increased after the recent rainfall following the spell of extreme heat. To make matters worse, there is not adequate facility at the hospital to serve more than half a dozen victims who are taken to the hospital daily as the snakes have turned up the heat in summer.
The zonal hospital does not have ventilators to ease breathing problems of the victims during treatment causing many deaths every year. The patients are referred to an Indian hospital at least a three-hour drive away causing deaths of many on the way.
"The number of snakebites has increased this year. Apart from the lack of ventilators, there is also shortage of anti-snake vials," says Gangaraj Bhatta of the hospital adding that only a few of the 100 vials are left in the hospital.
He says it is impossible to save victims with limited medicines citing a case where the patient was saved after using 87 vials. There is also lack of doctors in the hospital. Only two out of 18 appointed doctors currently serve in the hospital.
The hospital records show that six out of the 47 snakebite patients died in 2063 while 14 out of 54 died in 2064. Similarly 16, including all six referred to India, out of 54 patients died last year.
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