A 52-year-old woman from Sevilla, Bohol died after being bitten by a king cobra while tending to rabbits at her mother’s home on Monday, July 7, as reported by Inquirer.net.
Analinda Polinar-Dultra, a resident of Barangay Cabancalan, was attacked by a nearly two-meter-long king cobra—locally known as “banacon”—near a pile of wood around 2 p.m. She managed to strike back and even slapped the snake, but not before suffering bites on her foot, hand, and shoulders.
According to her brother, Filemon Polinar, instead of heading straight to a hospital, Dultra went to a local albularyo (folk healer), who reportedly told her the venom had already spread and that nothing more could be done.
When she began having difficulty breathing, Dultra was rushed to the Sevilla health center and later transferred to the Gov. Celestino Gallares Memorial Medical Center in Tagbilaran City. Despite being given an anti-venom shot upon arrival at 4:45 p.m., she was declared dead shortly after.
Filemon believes the delay in seeking proper medical attention may have cost her life.
The family later located and killed the snake.
This marks yet another cobra-related fatality in Bohol. Just last year, a three-year-old child in Loon died after being bitten twice by a cobra.
Health authorities are once again urging the public to treat snakebites as a medical emergency, emphasizing that seeking immediate professional care is critical to survival.
