يحاولGOLD- Free

SLITHERING DANGER IN AFRICA
The Straits Times|January 15, 2025
The snake struck 11-year-old Beatrice Ndanu Munyoki as she sat on a small stone, which lay atop a larger one, watching the family's eight goats.
- Apoorva Mandavilli
SLITHERING DANGER IN AFRICA

She was idly running her fingers through the dirt when she saw a red head dart from between the stones and felt a sharp sting on her right index finger.

Never a crier, she ran to her father David Mutunga, who was building a fence. He cut the cloth belt on her dress into strips with a machete, tied her arm in three places and rushed her to a hospital 30 minutes away on a motorcycle taxi.

As the day stretched on, her finger grew darker, but the hospital in Mwingi, a small town in Kenya, had no antidote for that kind of venom. Finally, that evening in November 2023, she was taken by ambulance to another hospital and injected with antivenom.

When the finger blistered, swelled and turned black despite a second dose the next day, "I understood that they will now remove that part," said Mr Mutunga with tears in his eyes. Beatrice's finger was amputated.

In Kenya, India, Brazil and dozens of other countries, snakes vie for the same land, water and sometimes food as people, with devastating consequences. Deforestation, human sprawl and climate change are exacerbating the problem.

According to official estimates, about five million people are bitten by snakes each year. About 120,000 die, and some 400,000 lose limbs to amputation.

The real toll is almost certainly much higher. Estimates are generally based on hospital records, but most snakebites occur in rural areas, far from dispensaries that stock antivenom and among people too poor to afford treatment.

"We don't actually know the burden of snakebite for most countries of the world," said snake researcher Nicholas Casewell from the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine.

Scientists are now trying to better quantify the problem. In nearly every country studied, the true toll of snakebites has been found to be much higher than the numbers registered in hospital records.

The problem was mostly ignored until recently.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 15, 2025 من The Straits Times.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 15, 2025 من The Straits Times.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من THE STRAITS TIMES مشاهدة الكل
The Straits Times

Striking scenes and staging in A Brooding Beast In The Corner

In a time of increasing awareness about humans' impact on the world and where climate change has led to greater urgency to address some of that impact, Arts Fission starts the year off with a frank, gritty look at the topic.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 21, 2025
8 Tips From A Regretful Investor On What Not To Do
The Straits Times

8 Tips From A Regretful Investor On What Not To Do

Stakes are high when you invest your retirement savings. It pays to be extra cautious.

time-read
4 mins  |
January 21, 2025
The Straits Times

Hatton in top 10 after a 'dream' Dubai title

Englishman Tyrrell Hatton eked past New Zealand's Daniel Hillier to win the Dubai Desert Classic on the DP World Tour by a single shot on Jan 19 at the Emirates Golf Club.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 21, 2025
France in 'great shape' for Six Nations, says upbeat Dupont
The Straits Times

France in 'great shape' for Six Nations, says upbeat Dupont

France captain Antoine Dupont said Toulouse's thrashing of Leicester Tigers in the Champions Cup was the perfect warmup for the Six Nations.

time-read
2 mins  |
January 21, 2025
Buy before you fly
The Straits Times

Buy before you fly

Changi Airport is pulling out all the stops to get travellers to spend at the transport hub, with new boutiques and a revamped shopping campaign

time-read
8 mins  |
January 21, 2025
Two fairy-tale figures exit, but leave lessons
The Straits Times

Two fairy-tale figures exit, but leave lessons

Fairy tales aren't just feel-good tales, in sport they leave behind lessons. From Tien and Monfils came the same audacious one: Don't believe 19 is too young and 38 too old

time-read
3 mins  |
January 21, 2025
The Straits Times

Benefits of common decongestant found in many medications outweigh risks: HSA

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) said the benefits of pseudoephedrine, a decongestant found in 31 medications here, outweigh the risks it poses, in response to reports overseas of adverse effects.

time-read
3 mins  |
January 21, 2025
The Straits Times

Learning Differences ● Drama Programmes Can Help Children With Dyslexia Develop Essential Skills

The Opinion piece on the transformative power of drama, especially in empowering children with dyslexia and other learning differences, resonated with me (No drama? We could do with some in our schools, Jan 11).

time-read
1 min  |
January 21, 2025
The Straits Times

S'pore-listed firms have more diverse boards now than 5 years ago: Study

Progress made in percentage of women members, but not in cultural diversity

time-read
3 mins  |
January 21, 2025
The Straits Times

TV host sorry for Djokovic 'banter'

Australian broadcaster Tony Jones has apologised to Novak Djokovic and his fans for comments he made on TV on Jan 17 that the 10-time Australian Open champion considered \"insulting and offensive\".

time-read
2 mins  |
January 21, 2025

نحن نستخدم ملفات تعريف الارتباط لتقديم خدماتنا وتحسينها. باستخدام موقعنا ، فإنك توافق على ملفات تعريف الارتباط. يتعلم أكثر