After malaria and COVID-19, British man survives cobra bite in India

An Indian snake-catcher extracts venom from a cobra. Snake bites are common in rural areas. (AFP)

New Delhi, India — A British charity worker who survived coronavirus, dengue and malaria was recovering after a potentially deadly snake bite in western India's Rajasthan state.

Ian Jones was bitten by an Indian cobra in rural Jodhpur district of the desert state and admitted to hospital in Jodhpur city, about 350 kilometres (220 miles) from the regional capital Jaipur.

"Jones came to us last week after a snake bite in a village in the region. Initially it was suspected that he is also COVID-19 positive (for the second time) but he tested negative for that," doctor Abhishek Tater, who treated him at the local Medipulse Hospital, told AFP on Saturday.

"While with us, he was conscious and had snake bite symptoms including blurring of vision and difficulty to walk, but these are generally transient symptoms," Tater added.

Jones was discharged earlier in the week. "We feel that there won't be any long term effects. If he hasn't already improved, he'd do so within next few days," the doctor added.

He said snake bites were not uncommon in the rural parts of the region.

"Dad is a fighter, during his time out in India he had already suffered from malaria and dengue fever before COVID-19," his son, Seb Jones, said in a statement on a GoFundMe page set up to help pay his medical bills and travel back to the Isle of Wight in southern England.

"He had not been able to travel home due to the pandemic and as a family we understood his desire to continue to support the many people who relied on him," he added.

Jones works with traditional craftsmen in Rajasthan and through his charity-backed social enterprise, Sabirian, helps import their goods into Britain to help them escape poverty.