Bhubaneswar: Superstition and delayed hospitalisation claimed lives of a 11-year-old girl and her infant brother bitten by a venomous snake in Umerkote area of Odisha’s Nabarangpur district late on Monday.
The deceased have been identified as Amita Harijan and her nine month-old brother Rituraj of Rajpur village.
According to sources, the duo was bitten by a snake while sleeping with other members of the family on the floor of their house. The parents panicked and rushed them to a local healer instead of the nearest medical facility. “We thought the healer would save them, but the situation worsened,” said Krusha Harijan, father of the deceased.
Their condition deteriorated rapidly during the night and they were shifted to Umerkote Sub-Divisional Hospital at around 4 am in an 108 ambulance, but doctors there declared both children dead on arrival.
“The children were bitten by a banded krait, which is a highly venomous species. Timely anti-venom treatment could have saved them, but there was a delay of three to four hours by the time they reached the hospital. I would urge everyone not to fall for black magic in snakebite cases and seek medical help immediately,” said Nabarangpur Chief District Medical Officer (CDMO), Dr. Santosh Kumar Panda.
