Kraits - common krait from India

The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling features the well-known story «Rikki-Tikki-Tavi». In this book a krait threatens a boy but is defeated by a Mongoose. The story takes place in India, where Kraits (Bungarus spp.) are common.

Kraits are called different names in different regions due to linguistic differences – the names are:

Karait, Kalach, Kala gandait , Kattige haavu, Domnachiti, Shiyar Chanda, Katla paamu, Kala taro, Manyar, kanadar, Chitti , Kattu viriyan, Yennai viriyan, Yettadi viriyan, Velli Kattan, Ettadi veeran, Karawala, and Katta Kadambale.

The Krait, the common Krait Bungarus caeruleus is a relatively small (3 foot) venomous snake and one of the most venomous snakes in India. Kraits have colors from black to grey with white stripes that are more abundant the further from the head.

Kraits can be found in a number of habitats. As their preferred food source is rodents, they tend to occupy places where rodents are found such as rat holes, old houses and semi-aquatic environments. Kraits are most active during the night, and usually sleep during the day. Therefore, the risk of being bitten by a krait is larger during the night than during the day.

Krait bite

Krait envenomation are quite common in India, Taiwan, Vietnam, and other Asian countries. Im a study by Ha (2009)¹, 60 krait envenomations were studied. The mortality rate was 7% even though the mean age of the people in the study was 33 and 71% were males. The mean duration before bite symptoms occured was 30 minutes to 24 hours. The most common symptoms were dropping of the eyelids, and dilation of the pupils. More severe symptoms included: limb paralysis and paralysis of respiratory muscles (ibid). Of the 60 people, 52 needed mechanical ventilation for 8 days as a consequence of the kraits venom.

References

¹ Ha, T.H., Hojer, J., Nguyen. T.D. CLINICAL FEATURES OF 60 CONSECUTIVE ICU-TREATED PATIENTS ENVENOMED BY BUNGARUS MULTICINCTUS. SOUTHEAST ASIAN JOURNAL OF TROPICAL MEDICINE AND PUBLIC HEALTH 40(3) pp. 518-524 (2009).

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