Snakebite cases are rising at an alarming rate in Rajshahi, with health officials warning of a growing public health threat linked to the spread of the highly venomous Russell鈥檚 viper.
Data from the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital show 1,167 patients received treatment for snakebites in nine months (January-September) of this year, with 38 deaths reported during the period.
Of the patients, 247 were bitten by venomous snakes and 920 by non-venomous ones.
In 2024, the hospital treated 1,370 victims, including 314 venomous cases and 40 deaths.
Physicians said that Russell鈥檚 viper, spectacled cobra and common krait caused most of the fatalities, with Russell鈥檚 viper bites alone accounting for at least 10 deaths this year.
Admissions for the species rose from 21 in 2018 to 86 in 2024, with mortality rates averaging 23 per cent, hospital data show.
A recent study by a group of researchers from Rajshahi University found that Russell鈥檚 vipers were spreading across the Ganges floodplains as habitat loss and climate change pushed them closer to farms and villages.
The snakes, which thrive in farmland and grassland, are entering settlements in search of prey.
Amirul Islam, a farmer from Charghat upazila, was bitten by a Russell鈥檚 viper while working in his paddy field.
鈥楢t first I didn鈥檛 realise what happened, but when my body started swelling, I was rushed to the hospital,鈥� he said.
Rahima Khatun, a housewife from Bagha upazila, survived a cobra bite.
鈥楾wo of our villagers died from snakebites. I survived because I was brought here fast,鈥� she said.
RMCH officials said that the shortage of antivenom was worsening the crisis.
The hospital director, Brigadier General FM Shamim Ahmed, told 抖阴精品 that the hospital was struggling to cope with the surging number of patients amid a shortage of antivenom as it was receiving at least 10 new patients with venomous snakebites every day.
鈥楧espite placing orders, we have not received any supply since the past month. We are borrowing antivenom from other district and upazila hospitals to save people鈥檚 lives,鈥� he said.
鈥楾he hospital requires at least sixty antivenom every day,鈥� he added.
Amid the surge in cases, the RMCH is set to open a 15-bed specialised ward for snakebite patients this month in its expanded 25th ward, Shamim added.
