In the past seven days lives of two women in critical condition due to snakebites were saved in the state with the help of venom response team (VRT), Assam model.

The women in question were reportedly bitten by India’s most poisonous snake, Krait. It is said that it is very difficult to detect Krait-bite marks on the body of the victims due to its very short teeth, but the venom is neuro-toxic and becomes fatal if not treated immediately with anti-venom serum injections.

Both the women almost went into coma while one of them was pregnant, the other’s health condition deteriorated after she was treated by a quack (ojha) doctor. Both of them have recovered now.

Talking to The Statesman, Dr Dayal Bandhu Majumdar, member of national snakebite management has informed that 30-year-old Nandita Das of Raghunathganj in Murshidabad was treated by a trainee nurse using ambi bag providing artificial ventilation and respiration while Borojora’s Rinku Kumbhakar has been saved by her own family members and ambulance assistants through the same system during her long road journey to the hospital.

“The VRT Assam Model has been popularised by Dr Surajit Giri. As per the Venom Response Team- Assam model, in every block primary hospital voluntary organisation members should be trained to use ambi bags, their phone numbers will be displayed at the hospitals and in emergency cases the free person should arrive at the spot as soon as possible, they will accompany the patient and return back the portable ventilator to the hospital after the victim reaches the hospital. In almost all fatal snakebite cases the victims die due to delay in reaching hospital and getting treatment,” Dr Dayal Bandhu Majumdar added.

Soumya Sengupta, national committee member of science and rationalist association of India said that with this model four patients have been saved so far in West Bengal. The two other previous cases have been in 2017 in Salboni and in 2019 in Onda.

“But the saving life of pregnant Rinku Kumbhakar of Barjora is miraculous. Her family has been guided over phone how to use ambi bags and create artificial respiration to her at the time of acute respiratory trouble has saved two precious lives at a time, both the mother and her womb,” says Soumya Sengupta.

One Nandita Das was saved by a trainee nurse of Jangipur hospital after 18 hours of continuous ambi bag usage.

“As per the WHO SRACO guideline 2010, in page number 104, it is clearly mentioned that ventilator support may occasionally be required to save neuro-toxic snakebite patients,” Dr Majumdar added. About eight years ago, he urged the director of health services to set up a system like in Assam to save the critical snake bite victims.

In India, every year about 50,000 people are unofficially killed by snakebites and the most snakebite cases occur during the three months of the monsoon season. West Bengal records the highest snakebite fatal cases in the country, the farmers and villagers are the majority of the victims.