Posted : February 2013
Author : Timothy Bancroft-Hinchey
According to the latest statistics from the World Health
organization, around five million people are bitten by snakes every year,
causing millions of envenomations, hundreds of thousands of amputations and
deaths. The WHO issues some tips on what to do if bitten and how to avoid a
bite.
Only around 600 of the 3,400 species of snake are venomous.
From the Proto-Indo-European word for "To creep, To crawl" sneg-o;
from the Greek "erpo", meaning "I crawl" we have the
creepy-crawlie "snake" or "serpent" of today, the habitual
resident of mythological stories since writing began. The Egyptian's Amduat, a snake, was the state of all existence
from which their Gods originated; in fact, the snake appears in mythology
across the globe, from North American annual snake dances, representing
fertility to African and Australian stories about the Rainbow Snake (Mother
Earth) which created rivers and seas, from the Indian myths about the snake Ahi
or Vritra creating all beings, to the Chinese snake-woman Nuwa, who gave birth
to the human race. The common link is a creature representing creation, a
life-giver.
However, today the snake enters the news as a taker of life.
The WHO has issued a document on animal bites (Animal Bites: A Major health
problem) in which it reveals shocking statistics about the snake: around five
million bites a year, 2.4 million envenomations (poisonous bites), between 95,000
to 120,000 deaths, 400,000 amputations or other serious health factors. More prevalent in Africa and South-East
Asia, snake bites occur precisely in areas where access to
healthcare is more difficult, namely remote rural areas, where agricultural
workers or their families are the highest risk group, using non-mechanical
farming tools and often walking barefoot.
A mistake people make, according to the WHO, is to use a
tourniquet or to cut the bite. The organization suggests instead immobilizing
the affected part of the body and sterilizing the wound, getting the patient to
a medical facility as soon as possible, and here, the facility should have
stocks of antivenom from the species of snake endemic in the area. Prevention stems around wearing protective clothing and
removing piles of wood or grass where snakes reside.
~Blog Admin~
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