Tragic Child Death Highlights Antivenom Shortage Crisis

A harrowing incident in Savār has left the local community grief-stricken, after six-year-old Shikha Moni succumbed to a snakebite due to the unavailability of life-saving antivenom. The tragic event occurred on Tuesday, 9 December, around 12:30 pm in the Nama Genda Bottola area of Bank Town, where the child was playing in the grass near her home.

Shikha Moni, the daughter of Dubai-based expatriate Jahurul Islam, was bitten by a venomous snake while enjoying a casual playtime with other children. Her mother, who is physically challenged, watched helplessly as her daughter suffered. Family members immediately rushed Shikha to Savār Upazila Health Complex, hoping for urgent medical intervention. However, the facility could only administer standard medicines and assured that the child would recover in a few hours—a promise that, tragically, did not materialise.

As Shikha’s condition rapidly deteriorated, she was transferred to the private Enam Medical College Hospital in Savār. Doctors there stressed the need to take her to the renowned Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka without delay. Due to traffic congestion and the urgency of the situation, she was transported by ambulance. Upon arrival, the hospital confirmed that no antivenom was available. Attempts to secure the medicine in Mohakhali also proved futile. Ultimately, she was taken to Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH), where doctors pronounced her dead.

Shikha’s grandmother, Shahnaz Begum, expressed her profound grief: “My daughter’s only child has been taken from us while playing. It is shocking that in a country of this size, hospitals lack such essential life-saving antivenom. Her final moments were spent with her mother by her side, and that gives us little comfort.”

Inspector Md. Faruk, in charge of the police camp at DMCH, confirmed the death and stated that the body has been kept in the morgue while the relevant authorities have been notified.

Medical experts have highlighted this incident as a stark warning about the inadequacies in Dhaka and Savār’s hospital systems. They emphasise that every hospital in the country should maintain an emergency stock of antivenom to prevent such avoidable tragedies in the future. The death of Shikha Moni has reignited urgent calls for systemic reforms in emergency healthcare provision, particularly for venomous snakebites, which remain a critical but often overlooked medical emergency in Bangladesh.