Key Takeaways:

• Patients travel up to 40km to Kalaiya or Birgunj for snakebite treatment
• Jitpur-Simara hospital requests approval from Epidemiology Division to start services
• Hospital has infrastructure and staff, treating 50–55 snakebite cases annually but referring all
• Two children died in 2025/26, underscoring urgent need for local treatment centre

BARA, SEPTEMBER 17 Snakebite patients in Jitpur-Simara are being forced to travel up to 40 kilometres for treatment, prompting the sub-metropolitan city to seek approval to operate a snakebite treatment centre at its municipal hospital. Jitpur-Simara Sub-Metropolitan City has written to the Epidemiology and Disease Control Division in Teku, requesting an inspection of the hospital and formal permission to start snakebite treatment services. The municipality said the hospital has the necessary infrastructure and human resources to provide the service. At present, snakebite patients from the area have to be taken to Provincial Hospital Kalaiya, about 40km away, or Narayani Hospital in Birgunj, around 30km away, according to the municipality. The hospital has been providing round-the-clock emergency services with medical officers, nurses and paramedics for the past three years. During that period, around 50–55 snakebite patients have sought treatment at the hospital each year, but all have had to be referred elsewhere. The municipality said snakebite cases are frequent in the area and delays in receiving treatment increase the risk of death and disability. Two children died of snakebite in the 2025/26 fiscal year, according to the municipality. Mayor Rajan Paudel and Chief Administrative Officer Damaru Prasad Niraula have signed the letter requesting the division to inspect the hospital and grant formal permission for the treatment service.