Snakebite victim dies

By MAJELEEN YANEI
A HELPLESS father watched his 15-year-old son die in his arms as the mother pleaded to save him after he was bitten by a poisonous snake at Hela’s Walagu village on Saturday.
It was yet another case in rural PNG where neither anti-venom nor an emergency flight was available for the victim.
The boy’s father, a community health worker in the area, and his family could only watch as Nethaniel Hawi’s life drained away and he died about five hours after a Death Adder had bitten him.
“After exhausting all means, I had no option but to watch my youngest son counting his last minutes of life on my lap,” his father Mick Hawi said.
“My wife pleaded with me to save him, urging me to re-check my stuff and the medicine storage area as I might have mistakenly placed some anti-venom there.
“Other relatives shouted at me saying: “You are a health worker and you should have some of these important drugs set aside for your family.
“I was at a loss for words, staring with heavy heart at my son’s face as he took his last breath at around 9pm.”
It was the fourth snake-bite death in the Bosavi-Hela-Western area since November.
In November a girl, 14, died because there was no anti-venom, in the vicinity and it was too late for a flight from the remote area.
In December a 10-year-old girl was saved through an emergency flight from Angoram in East Sepik. Hawi said Nethaniel died under his watch as he was helpless with no anti-venom to treat him with.
He was bitten when he went with his cousins to a nearby bush to hunt for birds at around 4pm on Saturday.
“His cousins searched for the snake and killed it and by 6pm they brought Nethaniel to the village and informed me.
“By then he was sweating profusely and couldn’t talk, lying flat on the ground,” Hawi said.
“We treated him with bush ropes (vines) and immersed his foot in the water, treated him with other first aid as he was slowly losing his senses.
“I know he wouldn’t survive at that stage, only anti-venom could save him.
“I tried to reach other health workers in Mt Bosavi and Sisa area, checking them for snakebite anti-venom, but could not reach them due to poor mobile network coverage while others said they didn’t have any in stock.
“Community leaders tried to call a helicopter to medevac him to Tari hospital but due to security issues, they couldn’t charter late flights.
“Most of the aid posts need to be upgraded to health centres and be equipped with necessary drugs to cater for patients,” Hawi said.