Cobra kills Palghar woman, local hospital fails to save her

Mumbai: A 60-year-old woman,  Rukhsana Shaikh died of a cobra bite at around 3.45 pm in Palghar on Wednesday while she was being shifted from a state-run rural Primary Health Centre (PHC) as it did not have a ventilator, which was required to support the body to help her to breathe. She died while on her way to the Gujarat Hospital. The woman, who was administered Anti Snake Venom (ASVs), was bitten near a garbage-dumping spot behind her residence. Palghar health officials admitted that they don’t yet have ventilators or ICU facilities. This is the first instance of a death caused by snakebite in Palghar since 2014.

She was doing household chores when the snake bit her. The lane has a kachcha wall where garbage from all the homes is collectively dumped. This dumped garbage attracts rats, which in turn attracts snakes.

While Shaikh was washing utensils, a rat that was being chased by a snake came running towards her. The snake however, entered her pyjama and bit her on her right thigh. The woman rushed to her daughter-in-laws to inform them about the bite after which she was rushed to the local PHC. After administering some anti venoms to her, she was rushed to the Palghar PHC where she was admitted on urgent basis after which 15 vials of ASVs were administered but no improvement was seen. The patient was referred to a higher hospital when her condition worsened.

Dr Dinkar Gavit, Superintendent of Palghar PHC said, “The woman had drooping eyelids when she was brought. We gave her 15 ASVs but as the venom widely spread in her body, the patient's condition became critical. We had asked her family to take her to a higher hospital but had informed them about her condition.” However, local snake rescuer Bhushan Bhoir pointed out the victim’s family’s mistake as they could not maintain Shaikh’s body posture.

Priyanka Kadam, Snakebite Healing and education Society founder said, "Everyone's body reacts differently in a snakebite situation.  Recovery factor depends on a whole bunch of things like patient's age, physiological condition, the amount of venom that the snake has injected etc."