9 BITTEN BY SNAKES OVER WEEKEND

PIGG’S PEAK – Snakes are on the move.

At least nine people were bitten by snakes over the past weekend around the country, according to the Eswatini Anti-venom Foundation. The people are said to have been bitten by the snakes around Pigg’s Peak, Mkhuzweni, Mankayane and at the Luke Foundation health facility. 

Thea Litscha-Koen, who is a co-founder of the Eswatini Anti-venom Foundation, revealed this yesterday. She said snakes were on the move. Thea, however, commended the excellent relationship between the anti-venom foundation and the Ministry of Health. She said through this partnership, lives had been saved.  

Some of the snakebites were mild, according to Thea, who added that anti-venom was not needed in certain instances. She warned that members of the public needed to be alert because this was a busy time for snakes. 

Season 

She referred to the period as ‘snakebite season’ because it was common for people to be bitten around this time.  Thea also revealed that since the beginning of the snake season towards the end of September to date, 50 people have so far been bitten by snakes. She said the incidents occurred in various parts of the country, including areas which were very remote. She urged that one way to prevent snakebites was for people to educate themselves about local snakes. One way to do this,

Thea said, was to join a Facebook page known as ‘Snakes of Eswatini’. She said this page had a lot of information which members of the public could read about. The members can also ask questions freely about snakes so that they could learn and know how to prevent snakebites.  Thea also said there was a WhatsApp group which members of the public could join. She also revealed that there was still a shortage of volunteers to catch snakes. “We have people around areas such as Mbabane, Manzini and Ezulwini but none in rural areas,” she said. She said any person could be a volunteer but added that communities should get involved. Attempts were also made to reach the director in the Ministry of Health but they proved futile.

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