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28 March 2024

Village doctor risks life to capture venomous snake

Published
By Reuters

A village doctor in the central Chinese city of Chenzhou in Hunan Province has recently risked his own life to catch a deadly pit viper for the safety of local villagers.

The doctor, Zeng Xianguo spotted a medium-sized pit viper hiding in a pile of fallen leaves on his way to collect herbs in the mountains. The snake is

nicknamed "five-step killer", as it is rumored that anyone could not walk no more than five steps before dying when bitten by the venomous snake.

Less than one kilometer from the nearest residence, the haunting ground of the snake may also be a tomb for villagers once they get bitten by it while chopping wood or tending their cattle.

Therefore, Zeng decided to capture the snake, take it back to his clinic and release it as soon as the winter season arrived.

Cautiously clipping the head of the snake, Zeng said it should be done with the index and forefinger at opposite sides of its throat, otherwise

it might still bite.

Although an expert on capturing snakes and never having been bitten, Zeng's hands were still shaking. "I feel scared, too. The snake bite is fatal. A victim will bleed from every pore of his skin when dying. Bloody terrible, really," he said.

Back to his clinic, Zeng hurried to boil the herbs before they turned stale.

Cases of snake bitten patients consume a doctor's special efforts, for their illness fluctuates sharply and is more challenging.

To patients with no family members around, Zeng has to take care of them.

Since his first day as a doctor, Zeng made it a rule of treating patients before he charges a fee as most of his patients are farmers with meager incomes.