By Hou Akot Hou
A 17-year-old girl died of a snake bite in Aweil West, Northern Bahr El Ghazal State, over the weekend.
Aduang Dut was crossing a pond when the snake bit her on the leg.
The deceased relative, Mr. Adhar Yel, said on Monday that the young girl was returning from a farm when she met her life fate.
Yel said the young girl’s uncle also passed on in a similar scenario after he was bitten by a snake in the past few years.
He cautioned the public to also exercise vigilance in the busy and flooded areas during this wet season.
Mr. Adhar told the public to consider methods of saving lives, though the health facilities are far away.
“Be always careful when in a busy area or when journeying in areas with a lot of water,” he said.
“If you know that you don’t have anti-venom, Rush to the adult who knows what to do in order to get traditional medicines like the use of uncooked eggs so that a person vomits to save him from immediate death,” he advised.
Adher blamed the girl’s death on a lack of anti-venoms in the Udhum health facility where the girl was rushed, which couldn’t save her.
Last month, the Ministry of Health said they are partnering with health partners to ensure that anti-venoms are stocked up for use in the emergency situation of snake bites.
This came as a result of the high number of people reported to have died due to snake bites during the rainy season in the state.