Two teenagers were
bitten by a poisonous snake
while watering the plants in their house on the Centenario plateau, in Neuquén.
The provincial Ministry of Health had to launch an
impressive operation to obtain the antidote
that saved their lives.
The brothers, whose ages and identities were not released, were carrying out household chores when they encountered the presence of a
"Coral", also known as "Micrurus".
According to specialists, her predominantly black and red skin accounts for her danger.
But none of those involved realized the risk.
According to
La Mañana de Neuquén
, one of them tried to catch it and was bitten by the reptile.
Immediately afterwards, the other teenager, wanting to help, also tried to capture the snake, but suffered the same fate.
"Many times, in the attempt to grab it to show it, it bites. This is what happened now: the animal was near some plants that had just been watered, they saw it and wanted to grab it to see it. It
bites the first person and the another wants to help and also bites him,"
explained Héctor Trepassi, general director of Environmental Health and Climate Change.
Both were taken to a local medical center and then transferred to the Dr. Eduardo Castro Rendón Provincial Hospital of Neuquén.
There, a new chapter in history
opened , against the clock, decisive in saving their lives.
It was then that the authorities launched, according to protocols, a rapid operation to obtain the medication.
There were
two difficulties
.
One, immediate: the hospital had run
out of available doses
, since its staff had had to attend to a bite suffered by a baby in La Pampa this Sunday.
Another, planning.
The second drawback, planning.
The two young people bitten by the snake were transferred to the Castro Rendón Hospital in Neuquén.
As in Argentina "the viper that most commonly causes bites is the Yarará", the antidotes are
epidemiologically and statistically distributed
in case an event occurred sporadically in each place.
The three cases in less than a week destroyed all forecasts.
After a quick search, they discovered that the antidote - manufactured exclusively by the Malbrán Institute - was available in Zapala and Cutral-Có, 186 and 118 kilometers away, respectively.
From there they were quickly sent to respond to the emergency.
The operation, through the SIEN (Neuquén Integrated Emergency System) Zapala, could be carried out in two hours and the patients were able to save their lives.
They are currently still hospitalized for observation.
The health status of the two brothers bitten by the coral viper is favorable.
Although they still require observation, "they responded very well to the treatment," added the health professional, who added that
a similar case had not been recorded since "25 or 30 years ago,"
since it is "a very rare bite." ".
How is the baby from La Pampa bitten by a snake?
Sofía,
one year old
, was attacked inside her house, in the Pampas town of 25 de Mayo, in the southwest of La Pampa, on the banks of the Colorado River that separates it from Neuquén.
In the first instance, she was taken to the Jorge Ahuad Hospital, in that city, but then she had to be referred to the San Lucas Pediatric Clinic, in the Patagonian province.
According to the newspaper
Río Negro
,
she suffered cardiorespiratory arrest and refractory shock
in the middle of the transfer, they administered the antivenom medication and she was hospitalized in intensive care, in serious condition.
It was that case that complicated the situation for the other two young people.
The famous coral snake is one of the most dangerous.
Photo Shutterstock.
“Antivenoms throughout the Argentine Republic are extremely scarce, difficult to manufacture and very expensive.
They manufacture them only at the Malbrán Institute in Buenos Aires and they supply us to all the provinces,” explained Trepassi.
The baby arrived in Neuquén after consultations with the Posadas Hospital, the Favaloro Hospital and a medical center in Santa Rosa.
He is currently without the need for respiratory assistance.
The minor's father caught the animal.
It was known that it was a choir.
"They are the most colorful and are not aggressive, although their venom is very powerful, poisoning is not common," reported local authorities.
In total there are seven species of corals, short in length (less than 1.1 meters), and they move among leaf litter.
Trapassi indicated that the micrurus or coral snake "is native to the entire Argentine Republic and also to the province of Neuquén. So, it is possible that we find this animal in certain environments, for example, in rural areas."
He clarified that "
it is not an invasion
, there is no attack directed toward human beings."
He explained that "this happens when the animal feels attacked or threatened, for example, if it is still in one place and they want to grab it, which is what happened" in the case of the two young people.
Finally, the provincial official recommended that, in the situation of encountering a viper, a spider or a scorpion, "never grab it, move away from the place where it is, do not touch it and ask for help," from the Fauna or Civil Defense areas, because they will bite or sting when you try to touch them.