Snakebite death in Madarganj, Jamalpur, followed by alleged attack on hospital doctor

A woman bitten by a snake was taken to the Madarganj Upazila Health Complex in Jamalpur district on the night of 6 July 2026 and later died. Her relatives alleged that she was not given antivenom in time. The next day, Tuesday 7 July, Asaduzzaman, the sub-assistant community medical officer on duty, was allegedly attacked at the hospital. Jagonews24 reported that the accused was Sharif Uddin, convener of the Balijuri union Sramik Dal and the dead woman's younger brother. The hospital authorities formed a three-member committee to investigate.

Romisa Begum, 55, lived in Tartapara village in Balijuri union; according to the Daily Naya Diganta she was the wife of fish trader Chan Mia. Her relatives said she was brought to the health complex at around 10pm on Monday. After a blood test, the doctor on duty said the bite was probably not venomous. The family alleged that antivenom was not given in time as her condition worsened, and that they were finally handed a referral to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital.

Accounts of her death differ. Jagonews24 wrote that she died under treatment; her husband Chan Mia told Naya Diganta that they took her from the hospital to look for a traditional healer and she died on the way home.

Dr Abdullah Al Mamun, the upazila health and family planning officer, told Naya Diganta that a blood test was done according to protocol to check whether the bite was venomous, and that although the result was negative, preparations were under way to give antivenom. He said the patient's son then refused treatment there and took her to a traditional healer; when she worsened she was brought back and referred to Jamalpur General Hospital, but the family took her by auto-rickshaw although the hospital ambulance was ready.

He told Jagonews24: “So far no one has made a written complaint to me about the patient's death. But a three-member committee has been formed to investigate the incident. Legal action will also be taken over the attack on the doctor on duty.”

According to Jagonews24, on Tuesday the woman's relatives came to the hospital and argued with Asaduzzaman, and at one point Sharif Uddin allegedly attacked him physically. Several hospital employees who stepped in to protect him were also assaulted. Dr Abdullah Al Mamun alleged to Naya Diganta that a man who said he was the patient's relative entered the emergency department, beat the doctor on duty and tore his clothes.

Snehashis Roy, officer-in-charge of Madarganj Model Police Station, told Jagonews24: “The attack on a doctor on duty is very regrettable. But no written complaint has yet been received from the hospital authorities. Necessary legal action will be taken once a complaint is received.”

Madarganj is an upazila about 34 km west of the Jamalpur district headquarters, on the east bank of the Jamuna River. The 2022 census counted 285,999 people there, and Balijuri is one of its seven unions.

Citing a July 2023 Directorate General of Health Services report, the National Survey on Annual Incidence and Epidemiology of Snakebite in Bangladesh, the Dhaka Tribune reported that more than 400,000 people are bitten by snakes in Bangladesh each year and at least 7,511 die, with 95% of victims living in villages. It said not every upazila-level government hospital has antivenom, so many patients travel to city hospitals or turn to traditional healers known as kabiraj. A Dhaka Medical College medicine expert, Professor Dr Saiful Islam, said some patients need intensive care after antivenom, which upazila hospitals lack, so they are referred elsewhere.

The World Health Organization listed snakebite envenoming as a highest-priority neglected tropical disease in June 2017. It estimates that 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes worldwide each year and that 81,410 to 137,880 die. WHO calls antivenom the most effective treatment and says most deaths and serious consequences are preventable with wider access to safe, effective antivenoms. Its roadmap aims to halve snakebite deaths and disability by 2030.

Photo: T.Tuhin / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Sources: Jagonews24, Daily Naya Diganta, Dhaka Tribune, World Health Organization (WHO), Wikipedia