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Snakes go on rampage in Nigeria
01/09/2006 21:31 - (SA)
Lagos - Snakes have bitten at least six people daily in Kaltungo town in Nigeria's northern Bauchi State, said the state health commissioner, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.
The commissioner, Mohammed Umar, a physician, said that Kaltungo, popularly referred to as the home of snakes, is one of the towns within the snake belt region in the northern part of the country.
At least six snakebite victims were admitted at the Kaltungo state hospital in the past three months, apart from cases that were not officially reported, said NAN.
He said that he had no figures of those who died from snakebites, but added that May to August was the peak period for snake attacks.
Not easy to eradicate
The period, he said, coincided with the peak period for farming and animal rearing, hence the high incidence of snakebites.
"Unfortunately, the carpet viper, a species of the rampaging snakes, is not easy to eradicate as they reproduce in hundreds during their breeding season," said Umar.
The government had intensified efforts at creating awareness on self-protection and also ensuring the availability of anti-snake drugs at all time.
Umar said that the federal government has designated the Kaltungo state hospital as a national centre for snakebite research.
- SAPA
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