Global Snake Bite Initiative

Mduduzi Gcina is a 4 year old boy.

On the 16th December, 2008 he was bitten on both arms whilst sleeping (time to be confirmed but was told it was 10am). The wound is typical of a Mozambique spitting cobra bite. His mother took him to a clinic in the area but was referred to a hospital in Nhlangano on the 17th as they were unable to assist. On arrival in Nhlangano they were once again referred to Mbabane government hospital (main government hospital in Swaziland) as they could also not assist. He arrived there on the 18th December.

Mduduzi spent 5 days in hospital before his father took him away, they apparently wanted to amputate his arm. He was on a drip but received no antivenom and the only pain management was Panadol.

Since then he has received no medical assistance. That is 9 weeks of pure hell.

Clifton Koen and Thea Litschka are passionate animal lovers who manage a rural business in Swaziland. When Mduduzi's parents came to them for help, they took him to a private clinic where he received medical treatment. But his father refused to let him stay overnight as he was afraid they would amputate his son's arm. Thea's mother had to talk to the father to try and persuade him that it would be better if Mduduzi stayed in hospital, not to mention much less expensive as otherwise they would have had to transport him every day from his homestead to the clinic and back, as well as paying a daily consultation fee which would have been rather expensive.

Mduduzi's family had NO money. The father was extremely sick and obviously not able to work, so getting proper medical help for Mduduzi has been impossible. Up until then his treatment had been very basic. Antibiotics, wound cleansing and fresh dressings daily. No debridement had been performed, but a skin graft appeared essential if recovery was to take place.

In desperation Thea sought help from the global community of reptile keepers via the Internet. An immediate response followed with donations of money from as far away as the United Kingdom and Papua New Guinea making it possible for Mduduzi to finally receive the treatment he needed. A few weeks later Mduduzi was doing fine. The wounds were starting to heal and the infection was under control. He was being prepared for a skin graft and was undergoing physiotherapy.



The doctor agreed to keep the costs as low as possible and was joined by volunteers who offered to treat Mduduzi at cost or for free. Even so, his skin graft would still cost around R3500 (USD$450), with another R800 (USD$100) for physiotherapy and R1200 (USD$160) for consultation fees and medication. But for Thea and her family, this was still much less than they had expected, and it put an end to her sleepless nights worrying about how she could possibly pay for everything. But more good news followed, SA Reptiles a group of reptile enthusiasts from southern Africa had passed the hat around and came up with the money to pay for the physiotherapy.

Mduduzi now faces a much brighter future than before. Although he will always have scars to remind him of his encounter with the cobra, he now has functional use of both arms, and will grow into a strong, healthy young man. All thanks to the persistence and dedication of Thea and her family, and to a global community of reptile enthusiasts and herpetologists who dug deep to help a small boy in need.