High temperatures and sporadic rainfall in Taitung have caused increased snake sightings in houses and schools.
Da Wang Elementary School in Taimali Township (太麻里) last week reported sightings of two oriental ratsnakes, or Ptyas mucosus.
Dulan Elementary School on Thursday last week reported that Huang Hsin-hao (黃信豪), a teacher at the school, caught a 180cm-long oriental ratsnake, which was released back into the wild.
Photo: CNA
A man surnamed Chen (陳) in Guanshan Township (關山) on Wednesday last week reported that two cobras had entered his home.
Chen had mistakenly thought that the local fire department had called off personnel dispatched to catch the snakes and he was bitten when he tried to catch them himself.
He went to Guanshan Tzuchi Hospital for medical treatment and was transferred to MacKay Memorial Hospital in Taitung after four antivenom injections did not help.
The Taitung Bureau of Health said that in accordance with regulations, Tzuchi Hospital could not administer its last two shots of antivenom, which it had to keep in case of an emergency.
Taitung County Fire Department Secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) on Saturday said that while it was not a fire department’s job to catch snakes, Taitung is unique in that it has many of the reptiles.
People should call the fire department to help remove snakes from schools and homes, and avoid them in the wild, Lin said.
Venomous snakes are common sights in Taitung, he said.
Shaded areas in houses are likely hiding places for snakes, as many homes in Taitung are next to farmland, he said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s hospital in Taitung, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Christian Hospital’s Taitung branch and Tzuchi Hospital have antivenom, as do local health centers, the bureau said.
However, there are only 13 shots of antivenom to treat Russel’s viper bites, including the stocks in Dawu Township (大武), Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島), the bureau said.
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