An infant in the Philippines died minutes after he was bitten by a deadly snake. The infant was reportedly bitten by a Philippine cobra that was living under the child's house.
A family member told local media the baby’s mother left the 7-month-old infant on the terrace of their home for a while to get some rice. Suddenly, she heard the baby crying in pain. She rushed back to the terrace and found the baby unconscious, Manila Bulletin reported.
The child had turned black, and was rushed to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival by the doctors.
The baby is believed to have died less than five minutes of being bitten by the reptile, Philippines Lifestyle reported. The incident took place at a home in San Isidro town, Davao del Norte, on Jan.15.
The mother initially assumed the baby was bitten by a dog but later found the cobra under the house. The child’s family members killed the reptile to ensure it doesn’t become a threat to the community.
The final rites were held and the infant was buried two days later. Local reports stated the baby was supposed to be 8 months old on Jan. 18.
The Philippine cobra is a highly venomous species of spitting cobra that is native to the northern regions of the country. The snake’s venom is a potent postsynaptic neurotoxin that affects respiratory function. It can also cause respiratory paralysis.
The incident comes months after a toddler in Tennessee was bitten by a Copperhead snake, leaving the child "in a lot of pain." The infant was playing with her toys when she suddenly began crying in pain. Upon realizing the baby was bitten on the foot by a snake, her parents rushed her to a nearby hospital for treatment. Parents told local media they found the reptile coiled up in the baby’s toys.
"Emmy Joe, my baby, walked up to where her toys were and started screaming. My babysitter looked and said she saw a snake. She was vomiting, just in a lot of pain. I was holding her, just consoling her, trying to get calm down," the girl’s mother recalled.
A cobra pictured in Abu Rawwash, Egypt, on March 25, 2006. Photo: Getty Images
