"POISONOUS" PROBLEM

The modern person living in an urbanized world often forgets about the aggressive wild life he might encounter while relaxing in the countryside over the weekend or, more rarely, in the city. About 10 million people are attacked by poisonous animals in the world annually, and 50,000 of them die. About one million of these cases are linked to poisonous snakes, and 30,000 or 40,000 have a lethal outcome. Most of these cases happen in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

According to the World Health Organization, the number of people bitten by snakes was half a million in the middle of the 20th century. Before the introduction of modern antidotes, 20-40 per cent of those bitten by snakes died, while in some countries (India, Southeast Asia and South America) this figure reached 70 per cent. At present, the number of lethal cases has fallen to 2-3 per cent, owing to antidotes.

Our country is lucky because, unlike Australia which has about 38 species of land snakes and 23 species of sea snakes, as well as dozens of poisonous insects, it has few poisonous animals. At the same time, they do exist, although in quite small numbers, and the gurza (Caucasian viper) and other vipers are regarded as the most dangerous snakes. They bite people in our country every year.

Beware of snakes

In summer it is a widespread practice for most of us to try to get out of the stifling city to somewhere in the countryside. The best option is to have a dacha somewhere on the sea front where the whole family can go and spend the hottest days. However, we never think that the entire holiday could be dampened by unpleasant surprises that lurk in the most unexpected places. As a result, instead of having a nice time on the beach and in the woods, we risk ending up in hospital.

This is what happened to Baku resident Eldar Aliyev. Wishing to enjoy the wonderful weather, he and his family went to their dacha in the village of Turkan. The weather was perfect for a wonderful holiday, and everything seemed to be okay. However, on a hot summer evening, Eldar walked out into the garden and suddenly felt a weak pain in his ankle. At first he did not realize what had happened and did not pay any attention to it. But when he returned home, he felt that his leg was getting numb. Several minutes later, he saw that it had swollen. After carefully examining his leg, his family noticed two small wounds - the traces left by a snakebite. Aliyev's relatives immediately took him to hospital because his condition was getting worse and worse. The journey from the village to a city hospital took about an hour. After examining his leg, the doctors made a diagnosis - a gurza's bite. He was immediately given an antidote. His body was so intoxicated that they had to resort to blood transfusion, and he spent about a month in intensive care. Then Aliyev received outpatient treatment. The rehabilitation period was quite lengthy.

Such cases are not so rare. Although we live in a ferroconcrete city, we can encounter poisonous snakes even here. Baku residents have seen snakes in Bayil several times, in the UPD area and in other places. Recently, there were reports in the capital that one of our country's most poisonous snakes - the gurza - had been seen in the National Park (which we usually call the Boulevard). Fortunately, the encounter with this dangerous reptile had a happy end - no-one was bitten. However, it could have been different, especially as the boulevard is always very crowded.

It must be noted that the gurza is the biggest viper in the fauna of the former USSR. The body together with the tail can reach a maximum length of 2 metres (usually up to 1.6 metres) and the weight of the body is 3 kg (sometimes up to 6 kg). This snake is usually brown or grey, while the pattern on its back varies depending on the habitat. There are also single-colour species, almost black or brown, sometimes with a violet shade. There is a line of transverse dark and brown spots along its back and smaller spots on the sides. Only the cobra's poison is more toxic than that of the gurza. When the snake bites, it injects 50mg of poison and, without the correct, modern treatment, people bitten by the snake often die.

According to the head of the terrarium and aquarium of Baku zoo, Pakiza Aliyeva, you can often see snakes at dachas and, sometimes, they can creep into your car - this is how they get to the city. Pakiza Aliyev pointed out that, apart from the gurza, there are also poisonous grass-snakes. However, these snakes do not pose a great danger because their teeth are deep in their throat. She pointed out that this year the number of snakes has not increased in comparison with previous years, and it is extremely rare to see poisonous snakes in the city. They usually inhabit various deserts, semi-deserts and mountainous-lowland areas. According to our interviewee, the gurza can be met on the outskirts of major cities where it finds the necessary shelter and food such as rats and mice. She pointed out that the presence of rodents can affect the population of poisonous snakes. The more rats, mice and jerboa there are, the higher the likelihood of encountering a gurza. The gurza is more common in Zira, Turkan and Qobustan.

"Some townspeople go to their country cottages and try to keep themselves safe from snakes, which is why some of them bring hedgehogs with them, naively thinking that they eat snakes, and others scatter garlic around their house. However, none of these measures are effective. In order to keep the snakes out, it is necessary to get rid of rodents because they can act as bait for a poisonous snake. As a rule, when a gurza encounters people it tries to crawl away, as do all other snakes, and attacks only when it feels its life is threatened. Usually, the gurza attacks when you accidentally tread on it or touch it. I have to say that the gurza does not attack in order to bite you; the bite is often in the foot."

According to Aliyeva, there used to be a serpentarium in Zira which rounded up snakes for their poison. However, the serpentarium was closed down in 1991 and there is no such facility in the country now. She pointed out that in order to get one gram of gurza poison, it is necessary to catch 10 snakes (the price of one gram of poison is several hundred dollars on the world market).

Aliyeva observed that the Baku zoo and the Zoology Institute are engaged in rounding up snakes and surveying the terrain. If they receive complaints from the population, they visit the site. However, quite often the alarm turns out to be false because the snakes found are harmless.

Quick treatment is most 

important 

According to the country's leading toxicologist, employee of Azerbaijani Medical University Ismayil Afandiyev, the toxicology centre has not received a patient bitten by a gurza in recent months. Only one case was registered this year. This happened in January when a woman dug a hole in the ground at her dacha and encountered a dormant snake. Nevertheless, we should not relax because most snakebites happen in July and August, though one-off cases occur in April and May as well.

Afandiyev pointed out that cases of acute gurza poisoning happen almost everywhere in Azerbaijan, excerpt for mountainous areas. He said that on average, more than 100 cases of acute gurza poisoning are registered in Azerbaijan every year. Most snakebites happen on the Abseron peninsula and surrounding districts. In Baku, the most "dangerous" places are the settlements of "8th kilometre", Ahmadli, Yeni Gunasli, Badamdar, Sahil, Bakixanov and Binaqadi. Our interviewee said that it is no surprise that a gurza was recently found in the city centre - at the National Park. Such cases happen from time to time.

"For example, a resident of Baku was bitten by a gurza outside the Heydar Aliyev Palace two years ago. Several years ago, a gurza fell out of a tree near the presidential office and bit a person who was standing nearby. This snake is very agile and can climb trees and bushes very quickly. On the ground, it can jump very quickly - almost the same distance as the length of its body. I have to say that the gurza never attacks people without reason; it often tries to avoid people. It does perceive people as a source of food, which is why people are of no interest to it. The gurza will attack only if it feels threatened. But we have also registered individual cases of unmotivated aggression - some people were bitten while asleep in their homes (in one case, the victim was an 18-month-old child). However, we should point out that the last attack happened at the end of the season of snake activity (October) and was probably because the snake was looking for a place to hibernate. People aged 15-45 are more likely to be bitten by snakes (more than 60 per cent). Women are bitten much more rarely (according to our information, the correlation is one to three). In children, intoxication is a lot more serious," Afandiyev said.

Our interviewee stressed that a person bitten by a gurza needs to be given an antidote as soon as possible. According to Afandiyev, if the snakebite is close to the head or to the heart, the consequences might be even more serious. If the person is taken to hospital in time, it is always possible to save him. However, it has to be done within 24 hours of the bite. He pointed out that the vaccine is absolutely free. The antidote can be injected only in hospital because the patient can react to its components, as a result of which he might fall into a state of shock.

Our interviewee said that local doctors usually use the anti-gurza antidote made in Uzbekistan, as well as the European antidote called Pasteur. Such antidotes are not made in Azerbaijan. He said that blood transfusion is rarely needed to treat a snakebite and is used only in especially difficult cases. Very often, people bitten by a snake receive unqualified first aid. For example, 90 per cent of patients arrive at hospital with a tourniquet tied round the site of the bite. However, this should not be done, Afandiyev stressed. If you put a tourniquet around the bite, even for 10 minutes, the duration of the treatment will increase. What is more, the likelihood of a lethal outcome doubles in this case.

"Some people cut the wound open and try to pull the poison out, but this measure is not effective either. Others put qatiq and garlic on the bite. However, if someone has been bitten, it is necessary to immobilize the extremity first. The poison affects blood coagulation first of all, which is why it is necessary to inject Heparin into the patient first, give him a tablet of Analgin or another antihistamine medicine. You can also give him some tea or coffee. Of course, only doctors can provide qualified aid, which is why a person bitten by a snake should be taken to hospital as soon as possible; the bite of a poisonous snake is one of those cases where procrastination is tantamount to death," Afandiyev said.