North snake drama – ‘it was a snouted cobra’
A man was rushed to hospital after being bitten by what was believed to be rinkhals, near the Hartbeesspruit river in Kameeldrift.
More information has emerged over the man who was bitten by a snake in the north of Pretoria early on Tuesday morning.
Initially reports indicated the man was walking on a footpath near Hartbeesspruit river in Kameeldrift, Roodeplaat, when he suddenly felt something on his knee. It was said he had been bitten by a rinkhals.
Emergency service 911’s Shawn Herbst said it has since emerged that the man was preparing to get into bed after a shift at a nearby lodge, when he encountered the snake.
“He ran outside and residents close by heard the commotion and went to have a look.”
A team of Netcare 911 paramedics was called out to the scene at 01:55.
Medics assessed the patient and found him in a serious condition suffering the effects of a cytotoxic/neurotoxic bite. The patient was treated on the scene by a Netcare 911 emergency care practitioner who provided manual ventilation to assist the patient to breathe.
The snake was killed.
Herbst said after treatment, the 35-year-old man was taken to Steve Biko academic hospital in a critical but stable condition.
Rinkhals generally prefer grassland habitats that allow them to blend in with the surroundings.
According to African snakebite institute the venom of the sake can cause pain, swelling and potentially tissue damage.
Snake catcher Nico Engels confirmed, based on a picture of the snake that it was a snouted cobra.
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