Snake bites- Are we paying enough attention?
After reading recent reports appearing in the media on snake bites many of the readers in Sri Lanka would have paid much interest on this subject. Snakes are reptiles in which category, lizards, chameleons, land and water monitors, crocodiles, tortoises and turtles are found. A snake is called “Sarapaya” in Sinhala and “Pambu” in Tamil. The tradition of snake worship was present in several ancient cultures, particularly in religion and mythology, where snakes were seen as entities of strength and renewal.
Many of us have seen the symbol of seven headed cobra (Naga) in Mahaweli areas which is a mythical King Cobra guarding water bodies and places of sacred devotions. Such stone carved cobras date back to the Anuradhapura period dating from 3rd Century BC to 3rd Century AD. It is a very important monument which reflects the ancient hydraulic engineering heritage in Sri Lanka. The image of serpents wrapped around a staff is a familiar one in the medical field, decorating pharmaceutical packaging and hospitals alike.
There are 294 species of snakes in the world and 96 are found in Sri Lanka. Of these, 50 species are endemic to the island. There are 13 species of sea snakes and 10 species of blind snakes in Sri Lanka. Among the 5 most venomous snakes in Sri Lanka, viper,cobra, telkawawala,spotted viper and kunakatuwa are well known. Some snakes are found in all parts of the country from the seas surrounding the island to the highest point – Horton Plains, while, some are confined to specific geographic and climatic locations.
Environmental scientists are aware that the snakes belong to the category of creatures who make the ecosystem of the earth’s biosphere more admirable and adventurous. There are many varieties of them with different colours, different appearances and different shapes distributed in different regions of the world some of them are even used as a food by the people in some countries such as China, Korea, Thaiwan and Vietnam.
Sri Lanka beinga tropical country takes a higher position among the top ranking countries which are under the risk of serpent bites. Serpent venom transfusion has become one of the worst but less concerned health problem identified by the health sector of Sri Lankaat present. This problem gets another dangerous facet as it brings death and various disabilities for the victims because the serpent venom can cause allergies in the human in different ways.
Many of us believe that all snakes are venomous and their bite can kill a human being and they are the most disliked animals in the world depending on how you look at them. Since the general public know very little about them, they are misunderstood and feared.Only a few species of snakes are venomous and have venom that can kill humans. In fact, only 3 species account for 98% of the human deaths in the country. Most snakes are quite harmless and nonaggressive. When a venomous snake bites its prey, due to the action of the venom, the prey gets paralysed. This is the main function of the venom. Venom also helps in the digestion of its food. Different species of snakes have venom of varying strength.
According to the data available at the National Poison Information Center of Sri Lanka National Hospital from 2007-2013, it is clear that snake biteshavesilentlybecome a critical problem in Sri Lanka.Most of the patients that have been admitted to the hospital from 2007 to 2013 are from snake bites. Therefore, a special concern should be given to this problem at present because snake poison can cause severe damages and untimely deaths for the people. The data illustrates that the number of serpent stung victims are higher than the victims of elephant man conflicts taken place annually. Although it has become one of the worst problems in Sri Lanka, it is regrettable that only a very little concern has been given to this situation.
According to a recent survey conducted by the Medical Faculty, Ragama Hospital, it has been revealed that about 80,000 Sri Lankans are annually bitten by venomous snakes and of them around 400 die, annually.While it reflects the adverse situation in the country it has affected the human life style too. Other than that, according to the data collected annually by the Medical Statistics Department of Ministry of Health which are based on the number of patientsadmitted to every government hospital in Sri Lanka each and every district has the patients of serpent sting.
The dry zone of Sri Lanka including Kurunegala, Anuradhapura and Hambanthota districtsrank higher positions among the districts where snake bites occur. Data collected from Anuradhapura base hospital which gets a higher number of patients of snake bites annually shows that about 14,987 patients had been admitted from 2005 to 2016. Amongst them 9,735 were males and 5,252 were females. There is much probability for males to become the victims of serpent sting in the entire country due to their involvement in the work away from home.
In most of the hospitals in Sri Lanka data on snake bites are collected quarterlybasis. Investigations show that the highest number of patients bitten by snakes have been admitted to Anuradhapura hospital in October to December which spans along with North East Monsoon rain. It is the season in which most of the agricultural activities, the main livelihood of the people of dry zone,commences. Data from2005-2016 reveal that most of the victims of serpent sting are between 17-49 years age group of 17-49 years. It amounts to about 63.3% of the total number of patients admitted to Anuradhapura hospital. The highest rates of serpent bites are reported from the above age group (17-49 years) and it is about 56.1%. It clearly shows that, this problem has directly affected the work force of the country. In the developing countries like ours the work force is a valuable resource and if this problem prevails as it is for a long time, it would affect badly on the effi- ciency of the work force too. In Anuradhapura district, Galenbindunuwewa Divisional Secretariat Division has been identified as a center which reports one of the highest rates of serpent stings. According to the experimental observations done in this area to examine the reason for having a large number of victims, the main cause highlighted was the close relationship between people and the environment around them as their lives are almost woven around the agriculture. There are 16,061 families (2015) in Galenbindunuwewa DS Division and among them, 12,156 families (2015) are agricultural families. As a percentage, it is 75.68% of the total number of families. Research has revealed that most of the patients who had been admitted to Galenbindunuwewa hospital were the victims of serpent stings taken place in agricultural lands.
According to the experiments done by NihalSenarath the Educational Officer of theDehiwala Zoological garden, it has been revealed that the highest number of snake bites in Sri Lanka aredue toKunakatuwa and the highest number of deaths are reported from viper venom.
Snake bites have caused many economic, social and cultural problems in the Sri Lankan society. Father of the family becomes the main engine of the family in the patriarchal society. So if the main earner of the family becomes a victim of the serpent sting, the whole family is affected economically and socially resulting multitude of direct and indirect problems for the entire society.
Snake bitesthe human purely as a defensive measure. They have no intention whatsoever of consuming humans. The reaction of the human body to the poison depends on the strength of the venom of that particular species of snake. This is called its toxicity.Snake venom is used in a host of research and pharmaceutical applications. Anti-venom is used as a medication to treat snake bite victims.Venom extraction is the process of obtaining venom from a variety of venomous snake species by capturing and then allowing the snake to bite into a collecting receptacle in order to harvest the snake’s venom; veterinary anti-venom are made initially using whole venom in part of the process.
The main reason for being a victim of snake bite is the unawareness of people. Killing serpents as we encounter them is not a practice that we should follow., killing a snake is a course of action that must be taken only as a last resort - the snake is more afraid of you than you are of it. With the exception of five species of venomous snakes on land, all other snakes in Sri Lanka are in fact legally protected under Section 31 of the Flora and Fauna Protection Ordinance . This essentially makes it illegal to kill snakes, or even transport, dead or alive, a snake or any part of the snake, or even its eggs. There are so many innocent snakes. The reptiles and the serpents also play an important role in balancing the equilibrium of the ecosystem. Therefore, it is our prime duty to protect the serpent resource while taking necessary steps to get our lives protected from the venomous serpents. Awareness programmes on first aid treatments among student community too have to be conducted by the health authorities on the possible first aid treatment with regard to such fatal accidents as they are more vulnerable in remote areas.