10 people killed by snakes in the Mayo-Danay

Snakes have been spreading fear recently in the villages around the Logone in the Extreme-Nord region. Haunted by the rising waters, the reptiles have bitten more than 40 people in the health area of Zina, ten of them died last week (October 12 to October 18, 2015).

According to the newspaper Le Jour of Thursday, October 22, 2015, "all the victims were attacked in their sleep." The death toll could be higher because victims of other cities have not been counted, the paper said.

The president of the Cameroonian Association for Environmental Education (CSCTA), Aboubakar Mahamat explains the numerous cases of death is because "people bitten fail to reach a healthcare facility after the bite. They are supposed to be heading to Tekele health center, the only clinic which is dozens of kilometers away. And to make matters worse, there is no antivenom."

To justify this, the newspaper said the CSCTA president maintains that "the valley is situated in the impact zone of the water discharge due to the construction of the Chad dyke on the right bank of the Logone. This building has caused the discharge of waters into Cameroon, gaining an unusual height. Reptiles, it is known, took refuge in termite mounds. But this year, they have been swallowed by the waters."

"It was a stampede for snakes, lizards and monitor lizards who fled drowning. They sought refuge in homes, many of which had collapsed. Only a few were still standing and families used them with the reptiles. In this cohabitation with snakes, people trample on them," said Aboubakar Mahamat