Egypt: 3 people are dead, 500 in hospital with scorpion stings

Three people have died due to thunderstorms in Southern Egypt and a further 500 injured after suffering from scorpion stings in Aswan, according to the health ministry authorities. No deaths have been reported so far from the scorpion stings. Video showed flooded streets, damaged houses, vehicles drowned and agricultural farms.

These thunderstorms, heavy rains have forced local forces to shut down schools on Sunday, according to Aswan Governor Major General Ashraf Attia. These storms and rains made animals like snakes, scorpios came out of their normal hiding places, which forced them to seek shelter, experts said. All those wounded have been hospitalised and are receiving treatment as per the reports. On top of all of it, the thunder conditions caused power cuts, and led to street lights and trees collapsing in streets.

According to sources, hospitals in Aswan are adopting “prevention is better than cure” methods like anti-venom being made readily available and doctors even being recalled from vacations. To be extra precautionary, spare doses of anti-venom have been provided to medical units in villages near mountains and the desert. 

On Friday, Aswan’s governor Ashraf Attia temporarily banned ships on the River Nile and Lake Nasser from travelling also due to poor visibility by storms he banned some roads too. It has led to a lockdown kind of situation for citizens. However, he ordered the reopening of roads and resuming vessel traffic in the Nile early on Saturday. Meanwhile According to some scientists, heavy rain washes away scorpions and snakes, which later seek to hide so they head to people’s houses – “particularly the high parts”. And also explained that, if stung, people should “tie a piece of cloth firmly near the bite to inhibit the venom from reaching the heart”. “They should then seek the hospital [out] immediately to get the [anti-venom]. 

Data source: the independent.co