Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru (SP)

Mangaluru, Sep 9: Arathi (33), wife of Dayanand Poojary from Navoor Kanapade in Bantwal taluk, who was bitten by a poisonous snake, came to district Wenlock Hospital here for treatment along with the live snake that hit her on Thursday September 8 evening.

Dayanand Poojary and Arathi couple work as coolies. After returning home from work at around 5.30 pm on Thursday, Arathi went to the bathroom for heating water for bath. When she stretched her hand to pick up firewood from nearby stack, a snake, known in scientific parlance as hump nosed pit viper, bit her all of a sudden. She withdrew her hand and raised an alarm, at which her husband and neighbours rushed there. Blood was oozing out of her hand and there were three marks made by the snake's fangs in her hand. When a search was made by removing firewood, the snake was found.

As the people failed to identify the exact type of snake, a neighbour, Ramesh, put the snake in a transparent plastic container. In a short while, the 108 ambulance, to which call was made, arrived. The woman was taken to Bantwal hospital along with the snake but the family was told to go to Wenlock Hospital for lack of facilities at Bantwal hospital for treatment. Arathi was taken to Wenlock Hospital in ambulance where she was treated, and has since recovered.

Ramesh told the media persons who arrived there that he found it wiser to take the snake to hospital as he knew that hospital staff would question about the kind of snake which bit the patient. He added that the doctors identified the snake to be of venomous variety. The villagers deserve to be appreciated for either not neglecting to check the snake because of panic, or killing the snake in a fit of anger.