A farmer named Abul Bashar Howlader, 40, has died of a snakebite in Chhoto Char Kajal village of Char Kajal union in Galachipa upazila, Patuakhali.

A venomous snake bit him on the morning of 27 October when he went to fetch grass for his cattle. Abul Bashar was the son of Joynal Howlader of the area.

According to local sources, he was suddenly bitten while cutting grass in the field in the morning, but he did not take it seriously and kept working for some time. When his condition worsened, his family called a kabiraj (traditional healer) from a neighbouring union. Abul Bashar fell unconscious right after the healer performed three rounds of incantations. He was then rushed to Galachipa Upazila Health Complex, where the doctor on duty, Dr Md Naimur Rahman, declared him dead.

Dr Noman Parvez, resident medical officer (RMO) of the health complex, said: "In snakebite cases it is extremely important to bring the patient to a government hospital as quickly as possible. Although about 95 percent of snakes in Bangladesh are non-venomous, the remaining 5 percent are deadly venomous. If the patient is brought to hospital in time, their life can be saved with antivenom. Galachipa Upazila Health Complex has sufficient stocks of antivenom."

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