By Correspondent

Health officials from Ruweng Administrative Area have confirmed that at least 25 cases of snakebites have been reported in the area between May and July this year, raising risks in human-animal conflicts in the region.

RAA Health Minister, Sarah Achol Bol, told the media that heavy rainfall and flooding have contributed to the increase in snakebites. Most cases were recorded at Parieng Hospital, with three others treated at Abiemnhom Hospital, she said.

Of the 25 cases, 13 were female, including children under 5, and 10 were male, two of whom were under 3 years old.

“One suspected snakebite death was reported in Parieng town, but no fatalities were confirmed among hospitalized patients,” Bol told Radio Tamazuj.

To make the matters worse, most of the affected locals face the challenge of accessing health facilities due  to poor road networks, battered by heavy rainfall. The torrential rains have pushed the reptiles among other wild animals to seek refuge on higher grounds.

In November last year (2024), at least 80 cases of snakebites were recorded in Greater Parieng.

The minister of health, Achol Bol told The City Review that the 80 cases were reported between July and November, and continued from the area of Ruweng.

The 80 victims, she said, were treated and discharged from different health facilities in greater Parieng.

“No deaths were reported at the hospital among the 80 snakebite cases and in the villages. They were just injuries,” she said.

Bol said most of the victims were farmers working in the gardens and those who were displaced by the current floods in Greater Parieng in the last four months.