Snakebite
Nagpur: The reported non-availability of anti-snake venom serum in Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and the prevalent practice of doctors forcing snake-bite victims to purchase the costly antidotes from market proved fatal for a 65-year old woman. The woman Belabai Sumarsingh Kumre, resident of Kachurwahi in Nagpur District, was bitten by a deadly snake while working in a farm on September 6. Belabai was rushed to Nagpur and was admitted in GMCH. However, the apparent non-availability of anti-snake venom serum in the hospital and out-of-reach injections cost the poor farm worker her life. She probably died a painful death bereft of any treatment on September 9

Recently, print media had flashed reports on shortage of anti-snake venom serum to treat different kinds of snake bites in Government hospitals. Although the concerned authorities had denied the media reports and asserted ample stock of anti-snake venom injections of various kinds, the exorbitant price of such injections is out-of-reach of the poor.