Eating beef killed by a cobra, 60 people in a village hospitalized
Dozens of people in South Africa, including 16 children and four elderly people, had to go to the emergency room after eating beef.
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The cobra is one of the most venomous snakes. Photo:EyeEm |
According toMirror, 60 villagers in Mpoza, Eastern Cape, South Africa, were hospitalized with symptoms such as abdominal pain, diarrhea and vomiting after eating beef bitten to death by a cobra.
The snake's venom had traveled throughout the cow's body and seeped into its flesh. Sizwe Kupelo, an official at the Eastern Cape Department of Health, said that among the 60 patients being treated, there were 16 children and four elderly people.
The victims were taken to four different hospitals in the area and Mr Kupelo warned locals not to eat any livestock killed by the dangerous venomous snakes.
The condition of the victims is unknown.
Cobra venom is a neurotoxin that disrupts the transmission of signals in the diaphragm, eventually leading to respiratory failure. In the most severe cases, a snakebite can cause death in as little as 30 minutes. Antivenom can be used to counteract the snake's poison.
