Snakes go on rampage in Nigerian northern city
Pastor Dale Morgan
Snakes go on rampage in Nigerian northern city*
LAGOS, Aug 31 (AFP) Aug 31, 2006
Snakes have bitten at least six persons daily in Kaltungo town in
Nigeria's northern Bauchi State, the state health commissioner said,
according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday.
The commissioner, Mohammed Umar, a physician, said that Kaltungo,
popularly referred to as the home of snakes, is one of the towns within
the snake belt region in the northern part of the country.
At least six snake bite victims were admitted at the Kaltungo state
hospital in the past three months, apart from cases that were not
officially reported, NAN said.
He said that he had no figures of those who died from snake bites but
added that May to August was the peak period for snake attacks.
The period, he said, coincided with the peak period for farming and
animal rearing, hence the high incidence of snake bites.
"Unfortunately, the Carpet Viper, a species of the rampaging snakes, is
not easy to eradicate as they reproduce in hundreds during their
breeding season", Umar said.
The government had intensified efforts at creating awareness on
self-protection and also ensuring the availability of anti-snake drugs
at all time.
Umar said that the federal government has designated the Kaltungo state
hospital as a National Centre for Snakebite Research.