CHIMA AZUBUIKE writes about the escape of snakebite victims from the valley of death
Twenty-five-year-old farmer, Eunice Felix, from Tungo Local Government Area of Adamawa State, was afraid of death when bitten by a snake at the backyard of her house. In search for a cure, Eunice said she was taken to a traditional healing centre where she said a horn was inserted into parts of her body to drain out the venom.
She added that she was taken to two traditional homes where she was administered concoctions, apart from the incisions made at several parts of her body.
Hot days have made snakebites regular at this time in Gombe, Bauchi, Plateau, Borno, Benue, Taraba, Nasarawa and Bauchi states with the most affected being herders, farmers and rural dwellers. Experiencing snakebite can be agonising and victims may go through tough moments to get treatment before the venom travels through the body in the lymphatic system. Last year, the Federal Government noted that Nigeria records an average of between 15,000 and 20,000 cases of snakebite every year.
Our correspondent, who visited the Snakebite Treatment and Research Hospital, Kaltungo, saw Eunice on a bed where medical workers were treating her. It was observed that she didn’t get adequate care in the places she earlier visited.
Narrating her experience to Sunday PUNCH in a weak voice, Eunice said, “The incident occurred some days ago. I went to fetch firewood from the backyard and in the process, a snake bit me. I was admitted to two traditional healing homes for treatment.
“In the first place, I was given herbal medicine to drink while in the second place some parts of my body were pierced and they used a horn to suck blood by mouth. But there was no improvement and that’s why I decided to visit the hospital for treatment. It is a snake called carpet viper that bit me.”
Research noted that most cases of snakebite in Gombe and most other states in the North are caused by carpet viper also known as kububuwa in Hausa. It’s a species of Echis pyramidum and found in the dry region of Africa, the Middle East, India, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. It is known to account for many of the snakebite fatalities in Africa. After a bite, the victim’s tissue and blood vessels are said to break down, leading to fluid build-up, bleeding inside the victim’s body, and may lead to serious problems such as kidney failure.
Eunice, whose husband, Felix, tried his best to see her get back on her feet, told our correspondent how stressful it was to move her from one traditional healing centre to another. He claimed that treatments from the centres nearly worsened his wife’s condition.
Felix stated that the first healer collected N2,000 but didn’t achieve much until they moved his wife to another place where she was subjected to piercings to drain the venom from her body.
He said, “Before I brought my wife to the hospital I took her to an herbal home for treatment who asked me to give him any amount for the treatment. I gave him N2000. I met another traditional healer who pierced some parts of her body and also used a horn to draw blood out from where the snake bit her. We came from Adamawa State. I wanted to take my wife to a place in the Katsina-Ala Local Government Area of Benue State for treatment. I met a driver who told me there’s a hospital in Gombe that specialises in the treatment of snake bites. That was why we came to the hospital.’’
He said traditional homes with little or no knowledge on snakebite treatments should not be allowed to operate so as not to worsen patients’ condition.
Tales of snakebite victims
Sixty-eight-year-old Safiya Danmalam, from Tula Kaltungo Local Government Area, is a farmer. She was also bitten by a carpet viper. She explained that she was participating in sanitation at her church when the snake coiled round her leg and bit her hard.
Danmalan said she wanted to pack fallen leaves, oblivious that the snake hid there.
She said, “The incident took place on a Saturday. I went to church to sweep the premises. I was trying to pack some leaves with my hands when a snake bit me. I was rushed to a traditional healer’s home but he was unable to provide adequate medication for me.”
Danmalam, who said it was later confirmed that she was bitten by a carpet viper, explained that she decided to go to a hospital after it became obvious that she wasn’t getting any better.
“I saw the snake after it struck. It’s kububuwa in Hausa. I decided to come to the hospital for treatment and I got treatment free of charge,” she added.
Sunday PUNCH gathered that about 2,000 vials of anti-snake venom were supplied by the North-East Development Commission to the facility in February. About 365 patients had reportedly been treated and 2,811 cases treated in 2021 including recording 44 deaths in 2021 and six in March 2022.
It was also learnt that over 299 free vials had been administered on patients courtesy of NEDC. However, once the 2,000 distributed by the commission was exhausted patients, would be left to bear the cost of procuring Echitab for treating snakebite which rose from about N30,000 in 2019 to N44,000 in 2022 for what medical experts attributed to increasing exchange rate.
In 2019, the Federal Ministry of Health noted that it was working to facilitate local production of anti-snake venom in Nigeria through the Public Private Partnership Initiative to make the product available, accessible, and affordable to Nigerians. The country still grapples with importation of vials for the treatment as the cost of treatment has made patients to consider alternative treatments. It is also pushing some patients to herbalists’ homes.
Twenty-five-year-old herder from Kwaya Kusar Local Government Area of Borno State, Abdullahi Haruna, said he was bitten by a snake at home while trying to pick his cap to go out.
He said before he was brought to the centre, he took herbs, noting that the venom was not cured and he was not getting better.
Haruna stated, “I was bitten by the snake in my room. I went to my room to look for my cap. I decided to use the opportunity to rearrange a bag of groundnuts and I unknowingly grabbed a snake which bit me. Some of my relatives suggested traditional medication for me. I agreed and we paid N1,000. But there was no improvement so we decided to come to a hospital for treatment.”
For another victim, Usman Musa, he told Sunday PUNCH that he couldn’t visit the hospital the day the snake bit him, adding that he merely considered the fastest option to get help.
The 26-year-old stated that he had been in the hospital for the past seven days, disclosing that the snake bit him when he went into a bush to urinate.
He said, “I am from Pindiga in Garin Galadima, a settlement under Akko Local Government Area of Gombe State. The incident happened seven days ago in the evening. I couldn’t go to the hospital the day the snake struck. It was a day after that I came to the hospital.’’
He added that he killed the snake and learnt a lesson through the incident to always be careful whenever he walked around during this season with snakes around most areas in the North.
Musa added, “I went to the bush to urinate and on my way back, I was bitten by a snake. I killed the snake immediately. I got to know later that the snake is called carpet viper. The hospital treated me freely.’’
The case of 52-year-old Halima Markus from Karin Lamido, Taraba State, was not a pleasant one as she spent over five hours travelling from Taraba to Gombe on motorcycle after she was bitten by a snake.
The Gombe/Adamawa Expressway leading to the hospital is a motorists’ nightmare. Many vehicles are usually in terrible conditions after embarking on trips to the axis. Hence, many people prefer to take commercial motorcycles. Markus stated that a motorcycle was the only means of transport she could get to Gombe for treatment.
Narrating her ordeal, Markus said, “I’m a farmer. I went to fetch water from the well and was bitten by a snake on my way back. Immediately, I went to a nearby hospital in Taraba where they said there was no venom for snakebite. I had to travel to Gombe State.
“I spent five hours on the road before I got to the hospital. I travelled by motorcycle to Gombe. When I got to the hospital, I was attended to and the treatment was free of charge. I am happy that I survive snakebite.’’
Also, seven-year-old Cherish Yunana is one of those bitten by carpet viper. The nursery two indigene of Lamurde Local Government Area of Adamawa State said he went to give his older brother his food when a snake bit him.
Yunana, “The incident took place last week Wednesday at home when I took food to my brother’s room. At the front of his door, there was a snake hiding at a corner unknown to me.
“That was how I was bitten and immediately I was brought to a hospital. A test was conducted and anti-snake venom was given to me free of charge by the hospital.”
Another victim, 11-year-old Enoch Emmanuel from Billiri, in Gombe, said he was rearing animals in the bush when a snake bit him.
Emmanuel, a pupil of Baganje Primary School, said he saw a hole and dug it to know what was in it when the snake struck. He said, “I used a stone to cover the hole immediately the snake bit me and I went to inform some of the elderly people around the place. They traced the hole and were able to kill the snake.”
Emmanuel added that venom was found in his body after the conduct of a laboratory test, noting that the hospital took up his treatment for free.
‘Herbal treatment not inferior to modern medicine’
In his contribution, Secretary-General, North-East National Association of Nigeria Traditional Medicine Practitioners, Mallam Ahmad Auwal, said traditional healing homes could never worsen treatments of snakebite victims.
He stated that there were those with herbs capable of healing snakebite while some didn’t have any cure for venom.
Auwal said, “There are people who claim to have herbs for treatment of snakebite whereas they don’t have it. But there are some who genuinely have the cure. There was a story I saw that bitter kola cures snakebite. But the question is, is it only bitter kola that such a remedy would contain? There are other things that are used to enhance treatment. Doctors should be asked what was used in the olden days to treat snakebite.”
He added that their members faced the challenges of lack of laboratory equipment which could assist their work.
He said, “Anybody that knows he doesn’t have medicine for curing snakebite should not claim that he has. Even at that, it should be taken through examination by the approved authorities. For instance, I have discovered a cure for diabetes, high blood pressure and other diseases but I have yet to take it to the public because I want to be sure of my research.
“We usually use real quantum analyses for analysis and it is N275,000 while the big one is about N2.5m. This is part of the challenges we have because we are working towards standardisation as well as ensuring that our medicine goes with description for use.’’
Also speaking, Secretary, National Association of Nigeria Traditional Medicine Practitioners, Gombe State chapter, Mohammaed Danmaijuju, said that his cabinet had commenced efforts at collaborating with the health ministry and other relevant authorities towards ensuring standards.
He called on those practising without securing membership of the group to have a rethink.
Danmaijuju said, “We have been treating ailments for a long time and herbal medicine has better potency than modern medicine. I have once asked that we take inventory into how many people died in hospitals and how many people got saved in traditional homes. That will give a better insight into our practice.
“The essence of an association is that we collaborate with Specialist Hospital. We are under the ministry of health and attend seminars to share ideas. We have protective medicine that if we give anyone, the person will be fine even after a snake bite. We only need government support for further training in countries such as India, China and others to get modern ideas.”
We’ll upgrade snakebite treatment centre, says Govt
Commenting on the government’s efforts to fight the trend, Commissioner for Health, Habu Dahiru, said there was a partnership with sustainable development goals to improve and upgrade the snakebite treatment centre.
Dahiru said, “The partnership will see to the upgrade of the treatment centre into an institute and start research towards the production of anti-venom in the institute through the support of SDGs and other partners.”
On his part, the state’s Principal Medical Officer, Dr Mohammed Suleiman, urged victims of snakebite to visit the facility immediately.
Suleiman, who spoke through the Head, Pharmacy Unit, Micah Musa, noted that unnecessary delay would worsen cases of snakebite victims.
He added that the facility had a supply to help victims to access almost free medical services pending when they would be exhausted.
He stated, “The free anti-snake venom exercise commenced on February 8, 2021, through the help of the North-East Development Commission in the Kaltungo Local Government Area of the state. So far, 299 patients have benefitted from the free treatment.
“Patients are advised to report to the hospital the same day they got bitten by a snake so that the venom will not spread into their body system. The longer they stay at home after the bite, the more the venom will affect their system. They should not use traditional medicine or any medicine that is not proven scientifically.”
He further said that most bites were around the leg region, and the palms, noting that the effects could be reduced with the use of protective equipment. He added, “Some basic preventive measures include using gloves while digging a hole. It is important especially in a snake-dominated area and using boots in the bush will help as well. For example, the boy that got bitten in the bush, if he wore hand gloves, the venom will not penetrate into his body system.
“Some of our environment is dirty, and snakes feed on flesh. They eat rats for example and rats are often found in rooms. If we can keep our environments clean, snakes will not find their way into our homes to cause us any harm,” he advised.
He also noted that the major bites were caused by carpet viper due to the terrain.
Musa said, “Some snakes such as cobras will give sound or warning before it bites, and they don’t bite unless they are hungry. Immediately a sound or warning is given, stay away from such a place. In the case of carpet vipers, it’s different because the moment there is motion around them, they bite instantly. They are common in our environment. They run away whenever there’s movement around them, but cobras and others don’t.
“Not all snakes are poisonous and they cannot be distinguished except when the victim comes to the hospital for a test. Most of the traditional centres will administer concoctions and may be the person recuperates, they may believe they can cure victims of snakebite.
“Snakes that are not poisonous don’t have fangs while the ones with poison have fangs. Poisonous snakebite is also different from non-poisonous snakebite. The surface of the victim’s skin reveals the difference between poisonous and non poisonous snakebites. Not all snake-bites are poisonous, but it is important for a patient to report to the hospital after a snake bite.”
He advised that it would be an advantage if patients identified the type of snake to facilitate speedy medication, warning that killing of snakes would have repercussions on the ecosystem.
He added, “The number one thing we do in the hospital when a patient is being admitted is to ask for the type of snake or perhaps if the snake was killed, we ask for the sample to make our work easier. Also, we don’t encourage patients to kill snakes because it will affect the ecosystem.
“If one is unable to identify the snake, there are clinical symptoms we can use to identify it or the kind of area the victim lives or the state to know the type of snake that bites him or her. We have two types of anti-snakebite venom. If we are not sure of the type of snake that bites the victim, we give the victim the most common snake anti-venom. We will later figure out everything after the medical tests.”
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