{"id":198253,"date":"2025-10-08T17:08:10","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T17:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/198253\/"},"modified":"2025-10-08T17:08:10","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T17:08:10","slug":"it-could-be-any-of-us-next-fear-grips-bangladesh-as-venomous-snakes-invade-flooded-villages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/198253\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018It could be any of us next\u2019: Fear grips Bangladesh as venomous snakes invade flooded villages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

RAJSHAHI, Oct 8 \u2014\u00a0In the swamplands along Bangladesh\u2019s mighty Padma River, snakes slithering through villages have become an unrelenting menace, leaving residents terrified and hospitals overwhelmed with bite victims.<\/p>\n

Doctors and experts warn snakebites are on the rise, driven by heavy rains, shrinking habitats and shifting farming practices.<\/p>\n

Bangladesh\u2014among the nations most vulnerable to climate change\u2014has seen nearly 15,000 snakebite admissions this year, with 84 deaths reported so far.<\/p>\n

Farmer Ananda Mondol broke down as he recalled how a snake bit his ankle while he was working in a rice field this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t talk, I couldn\u2019t move,\u201d the 35-year-old from Nimtola, a village in the northern district of Rajshahi, told AFP.<\/p>\n

\u201cI vomited, lost control of my bowels, and saliva was coming out of my mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

He spent three days in intensive care, and is still plagued by sleepless nights and persistent muscle pain.<\/p>\n

The father of four has not returned to the fields since.<\/p>\n

His wife, Sunita Rani, a traditional healer, said the family cannot afford further treatment.<\/p>\n

Across the villages of northern Bangladesh, similar stories abound.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes, they even lie with us on the bed,\u201d said Rezina Begum, as she washed clothes by the river.<\/p>\n

Another villager, Mohammad Bablu, told AFP he dreads walking through the fields.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy heart races,\u201d he said. \u201cOnly yesterday they killed seven snakes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This photograph taken on September 23, 2025, shows a specimen of the venomous snake species Russell’s viper, preserved in formalin at the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in Rajshahi. \u2014 AFP pic <\/p>\n

\u2018Strong swimmers\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n

The swamplands have always been a sanctuary for snakes, but floodwaters brought on by this year\u2019s extra heavy monsoon rains have pushed more of them from their natural shelters into human settlements.<\/p>\n

And doctors say that has ramped up the deadly consequences.<\/p>\n

At least 25 people have died from snakebites at the Rajshahi Medical College hospital since January, said professor of medicine Abu Shahin Mohammed Mahbubur Rahman.<\/p>\n

The hospital treated more than 1,000 cases in nine months, including 206 bites from venomous species such as cobras, kraits and the feared Russell\u2019s viper.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany patients suffer acute kidney failure after snakebites,\u201d Rahman said.<\/p>\n

Nationwide, authorities have recorded 84 snakebite deaths so far this year, alongside nearly 15,000 admissions.<\/p>\n

That follows 118 deaths in 2024, one of the highest tolls in recent memory.<\/p>\n

The once uncommon venomous Russell\u2019s viper has seen a resurgence in numbers since 2013, spreading panic.<\/p>\n

Fatalities have risen steadily since.<\/p>\n

\"This <\/p>\n

This aerial photograph taken on September 22, 2025, shows a general view of river Padma shrouded in mist at Rajshahi. In the swamplands along Bangladesh’s mighty Padma River, snakes slithering through villages have become an unrelenting menace, leaving residents terrified and hospitals overwhelmed with bite victims. \u2014 AFP pic<\/p>\n

A prolific breeder, Russell\u2019s vipers do not lay eggs\u2014they give birth to as many as 60 babies at a time, making them difficult to contain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are strong swimmers and can float on water hyacinths,\u201d said Farid Ahsan, professor of zoology at Chittagong University.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s heavy rains have worsened the risk.<\/p>\n

Rajshahi recorded 1,409 millimetres of rainfall between May and September, nearly a fifth higher above the seasonal norm of 1,175 mm.<\/p>\n

Boots and nets\u00a0<\/p>\n

But experts say climate change is only part of the picture.<\/p>\n

Gowhar Naim Wara, a disaster management specialist, blamed urbanisation and farming practices.<\/p>\n

\u201cTheir habitat is gone, and they are now living in close contact with humans,\u201d Wara said.<\/p>\n

Hospitals have scrambled to stock antivenom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have sufficient antivenoms for the next three weeks,\u201d said Md Sayedur Rahman, special assistant at the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, adding that more imports were on the way.<\/p>\n

But experts caution imported antidotes are not always effective, as venoms vary by species and region.<\/p>\n

Bangladesh is working on its own treatments, with progress on a Russell\u2019s viper antivenom – though rollout remains at least three years away.<\/p>\n

In the meantime, villagers are adapting as best they can\u2014carrying sticks and torches at night, wearing jeans and boots in the fields, and sleeping under mosquito nets.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt could be any of us next,\u201d said Bablu. \u201cWe live every day with that thought.\u201d \u2014 AFP<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"RAJSHAHI, Oct 8 \u2014\u00a0In the swamplands along Bangladesh\u2019s mighty Padma River, snakes slithering through villages have become an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198254,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[124300,64,63,124295,124299,124296,124297,124298,128,338],"class_list":{"0":"post-198253","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-wildlife","8":"tag-antivenom-shortage","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-bangladesh-snakebites","12":"tag-climate-change-and-habitat-loss","13":"tag-padma-river","14":"tag-rajshahi-snake-menace","15":"tag-russells-viper","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-wildlife"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198253","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198253"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198253\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198253"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198253"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198253"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}