Consecutive bites on two persons by the same cobra: a case report

• Published in: Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases
• Main Authors: MR Amin, SMH Mamun, NH Chowdhury, M Rahman, A Ghose, A Al Hasan, MA Faiz
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: SciELO 2008
• Subjects: consecutive bites; neurotoxicity; cobra; snakebite; antivenom; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Toxicology. Poisons; RA1190-1270; Zoology; QL1-991; Arctic; Two Brothers
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-91992008000400014; https://doaj.org/article/e4898d3e762e41e0a9698cc8bca5ec39

In tropical countries like Bangladesh, persons are bitten by snakes every day and a considerable number of patients die en route to the hospital. An event of consecutive neurotoxic bites on two men by a single snake was observed in the Snake Bite Study Clinic (SBSC) of the Chittagong Medical College Hospital (CMCH). Two brothers, working in their semi-pucca restaurant, were successively bitten by the same cobra on their lower limbs. Within an hour, they were taken to the CMCH. Few minutes after admission, both developed symptoms of neurotoxicity: ptosis, nasal voice, dysphagia, broken neck sign, etc. They received polyvalent antivenom (Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceuticals Company, India) and other auxiliary treatment immediately. Within few hours, neurotoxic features were completely absent. Later, the snake was captured in the restaurant kitchen and identified as monocellate cobra (Naja kauthia) by the SBSC. The elder brother developed significant antivenom reactions and both presented necrosis and ulceration at the bite sites. In these cases, immediate arrival to the hospital and early administration of antivenom resulted in successful recoveries.