A woman named Parul Begum, 45, has died of a snakebite in Bhola. The death occurred around noon on Thursday, 17 August.

Parul Begum was the wife of the late Odud Sikder of Sikder Bari in Taraganj village, Ward 5 of Char Bhuta union, Lalmohan upazila, Bhola.

Her mother, Firoza Begum, and local people said the chicks in the hen coop were crying out on Wednesday night. Parul Begum got up and put her hand into the coop in the dark, and a venomous snake bit her hand. When she screamed, she was taken to Lalmohan Upazila Health Complex.

As her condition worsened there, doctors referred her to Bhola Sadar Hospital for better treatment. But instead of going to Bhola Sadar Hospital, she went to a local ojha (snake charmer) for treatment and then returned home.

They said that around noon on Thursday, Parul Begum suddenly vomited and lost consciousness. Her family took her back to Lalmohan Upazila Health Complex, where doctors declared her dead.

Dr Atanu Majumder, medical officer at Lalmohan Upazila Health Complex, said the woman had been sent to Bhola Sadar Hospital but went to a local snake charmer for quack treatment instead, and that this led to her death.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.