A doctor attributed the increase to the farm harvest season.
The number of victims of snake bite has increased in recent times in 10 states in the northern Nigeria, an official has said.
Abubakar Balla, the Medical Officer in Charge of Snake Bite Treatment and Research Centre, Kaltungo, Gombe State, made this known to the News Agency of Nigeria in Gombe on Friday.
He attributed the increase to the ongoing farm harvest season in the area.
“On the average, the centre records 10 to 11 patients daily. The hospital wards were designed to contain only 44 patients. At the moment, there are 73 patients in the centre.’’
“People come to the hospital from nine states in the northern part of the country to access treatment.”
“We discharge patients daily and also admit new ones. The situation is pathetic; honestly people need to take precautionary measures”, he said.
Mr. Balla said there was sufficient anti-snake venom for the treatment of all types of snake bite in the hospital.
He appealed to those going to farms for harvest, particularly those for maize, to wear boots, hand gloves, and to hold sticks.
(NAN)
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