Venomous snakes have spread fear among students at Islamic University (IU). Students say common kraits, known locally as kalach or deshi kalach, have recently been seen near the university's residential halls and several academic buildings, raising concern for their safety.

Arif Hossain, a student of the Al-Fiqh and Legal Studies department, said snakes were being seen in different parts of the campus. "We are worried by incidents like this in the residential hall area. It is very alarming for us that the university medical centre has no arrangement to give antivenom. If anyone is bitten by a venomous snake, there is no way to get help straight away. A krait bite is not noticed at once, and without treatment there is a chance of death within four hours. This is a terrifying matter. The administration should act quickly to ensure our safety."

The university's chief medical officer, Dr Md Sirajul Islam, said the medical centre was in effect a primary care centre. Anyone bitten by a snake who comes there would be given supportive treatment, including saline and a cannula, and sent on to Kushtia Medical College Hospital.

He said antivenom could not be given there because it requires a particular setting, and giving it anywhere other than a medical college hospital is officially prohibited. Antivenom cannot be given just because someone has been bitten by a snake; given without a venomous bite, the patient may even die. It must be used after tests, with cardiac support among other things.

Sirajul Islam said the centre had held some antivenom from 10 years ago, but all except one of the 10–12 vials had expired; they were worth about Tk 17,000. As there is no scope to give antivenom there, no new stock was brought in. When the centre raised antivenom with the administration in the past, the decision was that clearing the undergrowth would solve the problem, and once the administration saw that antivenom could not be given there, the matter was not pursued.

Md Alauddin, head of the estate office, said the office was always working to keep the campus clean. Weeds and undergrowth had been cleared around all buildings, including the academic buildings, for the cluster admission test, and more machines had been added to speed up the work. With the administration's support, he said, the office could eliminate the weeds and keep the campus clean.

According to Wikipedia, a krait bite is often hard to notice because it is painless, but there are some symptoms: a painless or slightly swollen bite site, numbness in the hands and feet, drooping eyelids, blurred vision, difficulty speaking and swallowing, and breathing difficulty. The symptoms begin within 1–4 hours of the bite and become severe within 6 hours.

The person who has been bitten must be kept calm and the bitten limb kept still so that the venom does not spread quickly. The venom must not be sucked out, the limb must not be tied off (no tourniquet), and the doctor should be helped to identify the snake. Krait venom is neurotoxic and can stop breathing, so prompt treatment is essential.

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