Guwahati: Experts in Assam have documented the first known cases of snakebites caused by dead cobras and a krait, highlighting the dangers of handling dead snakes.
A study titled “Death to Bite: A Case Report of Dead Snake Envenoming and Treatment” was published on Tuesday in the international journal Frontiers in Tropical Disease.
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The research was authored by Dr Susmita Thakur (zoologist), Dr Surajit Giri (anaesthesiologist), Dr Gaurav Choudhary and Dr Hemen Nath (paediatricians), and Dr Robin Doley (professor of biology).
The first case involved a 45-year-old man in Sivasagar district, who beheaded a black-colored snake eating chickens in his house. While discarding the body, he was bitten and experienced severe pain radiating to his shoulder, along with vomiting. Examination identified the snake as a monocled cobra, though the patient did not develop neurotoxic symptoms.
In the second case, also in Sivasagar, a farmer accidentally crushed a monocled cobra under his tractor wheels. He was bitten while dismounting, suffering severe pain, swelling, and discoloration at the bite site. He received 20 vials of polyvalent antivenom and developed a cytotoxic ulcer. The wound healed completely after 65 days.
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The third incident occurred in Kamrup district, where a black krait was killed and discarded in a backyard. A neighbour, out of curiosity, handled the snake’s head and was bitten on his finger. Initially experiencing no pain, he later developed body aches, sleeplessness, difficulty swallowing, and drooping eyelids. After treatment, he recovered fully within six days.
Dr Surajit Giri, known as the “Snake Doctor,” explained that unlike mammals, snakes are cold-blooded and can reflexively bite for up to four to six hours after death or decapitation, due to retained brain activity and slow metabolism.
“Mammals are warm-blooded animals. When they are killed or beheaded, they, as well as their brain, will be dead within six to seven minutes as the supply of blood and oxygen to the brain stops,” New Indian Express quoted Giri as saying.
“Snakes are cold-blooded creatures with slow metabolism. Even if they are decapitated or killed, their brain may still be active up to four to six hours and they can reflexively bite if someone touches their head or neck. We call it reflex action,” he added.