The number of snakebite cases has gone up in the flood-affected county of Duk in Jonglei State. The flood victims and local authorities are more anxious after 11 people were reported bitten by snakes in the area this month.
Elijah Manyok, the County’s Executive Director, told Radio Tamazuj on Thursday that the surge in the snakebite cases is due to floods that hit the area.
“With the level of the rising floodwaters, we have so far recorded 11 cases of snakebites among the locals in Duk Padiet town this month,” Manyok said. “And as a result, a seven-year-old boy called Thon Nien Gai died of snakebite on Tuesday. There are no drugs for treatment.”
Meanwhile, Abraham Garang Nyoch, the County’s Health Director, confirmed that the county has witnessed an increase in the number of snakebites after the recent floods.
The county health official appealed to the government and aid agencies to provide treatment for the snakebites patients in the area.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), snakebite envenoming is responsible for thousands of deaths among rural population globally every year.