Venomous snakes in our vicinity

In a country where around 400,000 incidents of snakebite take place with reports of some 7,000 fatalities annually, the hype and resulting panic created over a particular type of snake, locally called Chandrabora, or Russell's viper (Daboia russelli) is indeed incomprehensible. In a land of snake charmers, the people of rural Bangladesh are not unfamiliar with numerous varieties of snake, many of which are venomous. According to the Bangladesh Venom Research Centre at Chittagong Medical College, of some 3,000 snake species across the globe, Bangladesh has 108 species, and of them 18 are venomous and the rest non-venomous. So, normally, a species of snake that is not unknown to the local public should not strike the kind of terror that the social media would like to propagate. Actually, the snake being discussed is native to the Barind or Varendra Tract of the northern part of Bangladesh, particularly in Rajshahi.
However, in recent years, the snake has been spotted in several other districts (in some 32 districts, according to latest reports) in the southern and southwestern parts of Bangladesh. Evidently, their number has recently increased due to human actions altering factors that influence the ecosystem and biodiversity. Some experts in the field hold that gradual extinction of predators like hawks, fish eagles, owls, mongooses, lizards including the locally known goshap or guishap (monitor lizard) which preyed on the Russell's viper might be behind the recent increase in its number and spread. As it lives in the basins of Padma, Meghna and Jamuna, there is nothing surprising about its spreading to different other districts as the snake is a good swimmer. Loss of habitat thanks to the thoughtless acts of deforestation has forced the snake to live close to human settlements and in the crop fields where rodents, rats, frogs, etc., their main food, abound. Small wonder that frequency of the snake's encounter with humans has increased. This is no doubt concerning. The snake is highly venomous and unless urgent measures are taken to treat a victim of Russell's viper's bite, then it may prove fatal. Farmers working in fields need to be extra cautious. The snake's body being dotted with dark brown spots, which serve for its camouflage, it can easily hide in the dry grasses and leaves posing danger to unsuspecting farmers working in the field.
In a bid to address public concern over the Russell's viper, the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has, thankfully, come up with some simple guidelines for the public to follow to avoid being bitten by the snake. However, unlike some modern-day urbanites and their children who are not used to seeing snakes in their surroundings in the cities, the rural people actually live among snakes in their close vicinity. They know about what different types of snake look like, what they eat, where they live and how to avoid the venomous ones. Perhaps, some senior members of rural society who are familiar with Russell's viper and its characteristics have already been sharing their knowledge and experience about this particular snake with the younger members of society. However, the post-snakebite measures as outlined in the environment ministry's guidelines are crucial and need to be strictly followed by the victims and their family members and neighbours. That is because superstitions still prevail and villagers may approach ojhas (village faith healers) for remedy. That should be avoided at all costs and medical intervention should be sought from the nearest hospitals or health complexes.
The good news is, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the country has enough stock of anti-venom and other necessary medicines and equipment to treat snakebite patients and that those have been made available at every district hospital and upazila health complex. So, what is urgent at the moment is to disseminate the information among the populace through the government's publicity organs and the media.
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