Four people have lost their lives and 83 others have been wounded in snake attacks since the beginning of the torrential rains in most parts of Northern Bahr el-Ghazal State’s Aweil South County, officials confirmed.
Speaking to Radio Tamazuj on Tuesday, Aweil South County Commissioner Luka Thel Thel revealed that four out of the 87 people who were attacked by snakes from June to August had died, despite the authorities doing their best to save them.
“Four people have definitely perished from the snakebites. The total number of the people attacked by snakes in Aweil South County is 87 and this started with the heavy rains. Snakes are too many and we are now attending the funeral of one of the victims,” said Thel.
The Commissioner pledged his administration’s commitment to tackling the menace.
The Paramount Chief of the Buonchuai Community in Tiar-Aliet Payam in Aweil South County, Piol Geng Ariath, acknowledged the report of the snakebites and mentioned one recent case where a 12-year-old girl lost the fight after two days.
“The report from the Aweil South County Commissioner Luka Thel Thel is true because we lost a 12-year-old girl on Sunday,” he said.
The chief said the girl lost her life on the way to the hospital.
A local health worker, Deng Chan Chan, commended WHO for contributing anti-venom and other drugs to the area medical facilities in the past.
He expressed disappointment at the rising snakebite cases amidst the limited medical deliveries.
Previously, WHO provided the anti-venom that we sued to respond easily whenever there was snakebite. I do not know what has happened in the recent past, he said.