2010, Vol. 5 No. 2, Article 69
Therapeutic Management of
Snakebite Mritunjay Kumar*, Abhishek Kumar and S. Haque
Department of Veterinary Medicine,
*Corresponding Author; e-mail address: [email protected]
ABSTRACT A Jamuna pari goat aged about two and half years was presented with a history of sudden swelling in tongue and periorbital region following snake bite. Clinical examination revealed pale conjunctival mucous membrane, incoordination, frothy salivation, dullness, tympany with low ruminal pH, swelled cyanotic tongue and periorbital region. Administration of polyvalent snake venom antiserum, 5% dextrose, dexamethasone phosphate, normal saline, tetanus toxoid and broad-spectrum antibiotic brought about an uneventful recovery of the animal. KEY WORDS Goat, snake bite, polyvalent snake venom antiserum. INTRODUCTION Snakebite envenomation in man and animals is an emergency that requires rapid examination and critical care for proper treatment. Nearly one lakh animals in the world fall prey to venomous snake bite every year. The severity of the snakebite in animals depends upon the type of snake, age of the animal, size of the animal, the number of bites and the amount of venom injected (1). The clinical effects are more severe in small animals as compared to large animals. Reports on the management of snake bite have been recorded in dog (2) and cats (3) but the information available on this aspect in case of goat is scanty. CASE HISTORY AND TREATMENT
A Jamuna pari goat about two and half
years' old was presented at the clinics of Ranchi Veterinary College with history of sudden swelling in tongue and peri orbital region following snakebite while grazing. Clinical examination revealed pale conjunctival mucous membrane, incoordination,
frothy salivation, dullness, tympany with low pH, swollen cyanotic tongue and periorbital region with presence of fang marks
on the centre of the tongue. The clinical parameters of body temperature, pulse and respiratory rate were within normal range.
RESULTS and discussion
The clinical symptoms of pale conjunctival mucous membrane, incoordination,
frothy salivation, dullness, tympany with low pH were in line with the reports of Shearer (1998). An uneventful recovery was recorded following the treatment with antiserum along with antibiotics,
dexamethasone and tetanus toxoid. Broad-spectrum antibiotics, tetanus toxoid and polyvalent snake venom antiserum have earlier been tried successfully for the treatment of snakebite envenomation in dogs, cats and other animals (Jain 1986; Bailey and Garland, 1992 and Nicholsan, 1995).
REFERENCES
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