Snakebite Alert in India: 5 Deadly Snakes Found in Kerala Home, One on Child’s Bed

With the summer heat getting worse, snakes are increasingly sneaking into homes for shelter. This has led to a scary rise in snakebite deaths, forcing the state's health department to put all hospitals on high alert.

In a truly terrifying incident from Kozhikode's Kuttiadi, a family found not one, but five venomous snakes inside their house, sending a wave of panic through the area. The incident happened at the home of Ramesh, a resident of Meethale Kappummal.

The family was horrified to find a deadly Common Krait, locally known as 'Vellikkettan', on the very bed where their children were sleeping. Thankfully, they spotted it in time and moved the kids, narrowly avoiding a tragedy. A thorough search of the house then revealed four more of these highly venomous snakes hiding in different rooms. The family believes the snakes might have slipped in through cracks in the walls or from under the door. All five snakes were later caught and handed over to Forest Department officials.

This isn't an isolated case. Just after this incident in Kuttiadi, news came in of a woman in Perambra being bitten by a snake. She was rushed to the hospital. The Forest Department has warned that as the summer heat intensifies, snakes are seeking cooler spots inside houses. They have advised people who sleep on the floor at night to be extra careful.

Don't delay identifying snakebites; no slip-ups in giving anti-venom

With snakebite deaths on the rise, the state's Director of Health Services has issued a strict alert to all hospitals. In a meeting with District Medical Officers (DMOs), he instructed them to consider the possibility of a snakebite in all emergency cases.

Undetected snakebites are a big worry

The department is taking this very seriously because in three recent deaths, the snakebite wasn't confirmed until after the patient had passed away. To prevent this, there's a proposal to give special training to medical staff to help them identify bites from different types of snakes.

Anti-venom availability and treatment

The directive is clear: there should be absolutely no delay in administering anti-venom. The health department has confirmed that there is no shortage of anti-venom in the state and enough stock is available. All DMOs have been told to maintain special vigilance at hospitals. The department also clarified that people don't need to run around looking for a hospital with anti-venom. Just call 108, and the ambulance will take the patient to the right facility.

The state has recently reported several tragic deaths. An eight-year-old boy died in his sleep in Chirayinkeezhu after being bitten by a cobra. In Kodali, two siblings were bitten while sleeping, and one of them died. Another woman died from a snakebite while she was at a wedding reception. On top of this, two more snakebite deaths were reported just yesterday.