title: Two rare case reports of confirmed Ceylon krait (Bungarus ceylonicus) envenoming in Sri Lanka.
abstract: The Ceylon krait (Bungarus ceylonicus) is a deadly venomous elapid snake endemic to Sri Lanka. Its habitat is mainly in the wet zone of the island. Despite its frequent encounters in and near human dwellings, reports of envenoming are rare and limited to four in the literature. The first and last fatal reports envenoming by B. ceylonicus was in 1993. After over two decades, we report two confirmed cases of B. ceylonicus bites-one a dry bite and the other with signs and symptoms of moderate envenoming. The envenoming occurred at night while the victim was asleep, causing tightness in the chest and dyspnoea on waking up, followed by neuromuscular paralysis that did not cause respiratory failure and complete recovery was observed three days following the bite.
authors.affiliation: Intensive Care Unit, Provincial General Hospital, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka; Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Science, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka. Electronic address: namalrath10@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: R M M K
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Namal Rathnayaka
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: S A M
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Kularatne
authors.affiliation: Medical Unit, Provincial General Hospital, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: K D M
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Kumarasinghe
authors.affiliation: Medical Unit, Provincial General Hospital, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Jeganadan
authors.affiliation: Medical Unit, Provincial General Hospital, Ratnapura, Sri Lanka.
authors.forename: P E A N
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Ranathunga
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D000997:Antivenins / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002038:Bungarotoxins / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors*; D017838:Bungarus; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010243:Paralysis / Q000209:etiology; D012909:Snake Bites / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology; D013188:Sri Lanka
chemical_list: D000997:Antivenins; D002038:Bungarotoxins
keywords: Antivenom; Bungarus caeruleus; Bungarus ceylonicus; Ceylon krait; Common krait; Neuroparalysis; Snakebite; Sri Lanka