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730 snake bite cases recorded in Malaysia since January
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School children look at a tortoise the Urban Nature Research Center at Los Angeles' Natural History Museum, April 13. (AP/Damian Dovarganes)
Hospitals in Malaysia have recorded 730 cases of snake bites since January.
The northern states have notched the highest occurrences of snake bites so far, with Kedah recording 195 cases, followed by Perak with 107 cases.
The incident of a seven-year-old girl in Kelantan who died after being bitten by a snake is the only fatal case recorded so far.
“Snakes come out of their normal habitat because of the changing weather patterns. This is something we have to be careful about,” said Health Minister S. Subramaniam at a press conference on Wednesday.
He also advised victims of snake bites to seek immediate help at hospitals or clinics, and urged people not to attempt to treat the victim themselves.
“Be sensible about snake bite cases. Seek medical help as early as possible. The decision of treatment should only be done by medical professionals.
“Do not try to suck the venom out of the victim yourself because doing this can put the victim in danger,” he said.
Subramaniam said 139 hospitals in the country were equipped with antivenom treatments, which he said was sufficient.
“There are two kinds of antivenom treatment, one is monovalent which is used to treat venom for a specific type of snake, and polyvalent for a combination of different types of snakes.
“The staff at the hospital’s Emergency Department have the expertise to identify the type of antivenom treatment according to the case.
“Even if the patients are brought to a clinic or hospital without such facilities, we can transfer them to one quickly, without any problem,” said Subramaniam.
The minister said schools or local clinics would not be equipped with antivenom treatments, as such treatment is delicate and needed to be conducted at hospitals with the relevant facilities.
“The risk of wrong application of antivenom is bigger than the snake bite itself, due to the reactions it could cause to the human body,” he said.
