Snake bite in Bela-Bela

[SABOAMAN]

Found this in Beeld this morning. I have not found an English article so far.

http://www.beeld.com/Suid-Afrika/Nuus/O ... k-20121121

’n Ouma van Boksburg word in ’n hospitaal in Pretoria behandel nadat sy Sondag op ’n plaas buite Bela-Bela (Warmbad) deur ’n Mosambiekse spoegkobra gepik is.

Sannie Haywood (78) het gisteroggend ’n operasie aan haar regtergroottoon in die Muelmed-hospitaal ondergaan. Sy word sedert Sondag in die hoësorgeenheid behandel.

Magda Botha, haar dogter, het gesê haar ma het by hulle op die plaas gekuier. Hulle het Sondag omstreeks 16:00 in die sitkamer gesit en gesels.

“My ma het gesê: ‘Wat steek my nou so?’.” Net daarna het Botha die slang verby die rusbank sien seil. “Ek het dadelik my bene bo-op die bank getrek. Ons het groot geskrik, maar ons het nie dadelik besef my ma is gepik nie.”

Botha se man, Piet, het die slang naby die TV-kas gesien. Hy het dit met ’n graaf doodgekap.

“My ma het toe weer gesê: ‘Ek is gepik,’” het Botha vertel. Hulle het onmiddellik met haar na ’n private hospitaal in Bela-Bela, 15 km van die plaas, gejaag. Hulle het die dooie slang in ’n boks saamgevat.

Martie Jonker, ’n paramedikus van Tromar-ambulansdienste, is ontbied en hulle het Haywood per ambulans na Pretoria geneem.

André Lourens, ’n slangkenner van Pretoria, het hulle by die Muelmed-hospitaal ingewag. Hy het die slang as ’n Mosambiekse spoegkobra geïdentifiseer.

Lourens het gesê hy het aanbeveel dat Haywood nie met teengif behandel word nie omdat dit mense baie siek kan maak. Hy het gesê dit het baie gehelp dat Haywood vinnig by die hospitaal aangekom het.

Mosambiekse spoegkobras se gif is sitotoksies. Dit tas weefsel aan. Lourens het gesê die slang was 56 cm lank. “Dit was ’n klein slang en dit raak die hoeveelheid gif wat hy vervaardig.”

Hy het mense in Limpopo, Gauteng en KwaZulu-Natal gewaarsku om veral in die warm somermaande op die uitkyk te wees na slange.

Botha het gesê dit gaan goed met haar ma. Van die dooie weefsel aan haar toon is gister afgeskraap tydens die operasie. Sy sal vir minstens nog ’n week in die hospitaal moet bly.

- Beeld het in Desember berig oor Mikayla Robbertse (5) van Lephalale (Ellisras) wat ook deur ’n Mosambiekse spoegkobra gepik is. Sy het ’n deel van haar linkerhand verloor weens die gif wat weefsel vernietig het.

[SABOAMAN]

Found the English article on News24

http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/News/ ... a-20121122

Pretoria - A Boksburg grandmother is being treated in hospital after she was bitten by a Mozambican spitting cobra on a farm near Bela-Bela (Warmbaths).

Sannie Haywood, 78, had to undergo an operation on her big toe after the snake bit her, reported Beeld.

Her daughter, Magda Botha, said her mother was visiting them on the farm and they had been sitting in the living room on Sunday afternoon at about 16:00.

“My mom said: ‘What is hurting me now?’ after which Botha saw the snake slithering past the sofa.

“I immediately pulled up my legs. We got a big fright but didn’t realise straight away that my mom had been bitten.”

The snake was killed by Botha’s husband.

As soon as they realised Haywood had been bitten, they dashed off to hospital with her, taking the dead snake with them.

Snake expert André Lourens met them at the hospital and identified the snake as a Mozambican spitting cobra and recommended that she not be given the anti-venom as it could make people very ill.

Lourens said it helped a lot that Haywood had reached the hospital quickly.

While Mozambican spitting cobras are very dangerous, this had fortunately not been a big snake, he said.

Botha said her mother was in a satisfactory condition in hospital.

[Bushviper]

Okay I have spoken to some of the parties concerned. The lady arrived in Pretoria 3 hours post bite. At this stage she had virtually no swelling and a slight bluish tinge of approximately 3mm in diameter at the sight of the bite. Those were her only symptoms.

Giving antivenom when it is not indicated is a risk (not a massive risk but a risk none the less) and on an elderly patient the adrenaline which is used to treat anaphylaxis is not benign because they have hardened arteries which do cause complications.

We do not know how bad the necrosis is and an "operation" might just be as simple as a debridement under local anaesthetic.

I cannot fault the advice given and I would have done the same. If the doctors had called later to say the swelling or necrosis was progressing then possibly things could have changed but at that stage the surgeons are in charge and did not feel they needed extra external consultations.

[Boskobra]

BV- Is there any update on the guy that was bitten by the Boomslang? Did you go and see him, some feedback would be awsome.

[MrG]

BV- Is there any update on the guy that was bitten by the Boomslang? Did you go and see him, some feedback would be awsome.

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