Daltonganj: A 30-year-old woman died on Saturday after being stung repeatedly by a swarm of insects in Sourath jungle in Palamu district, officials said.The deceased, Savita Devi, was grazing goats when the swarm of insects attacked her, according to locals. However, it could not be immediately established whether the insects were wasps, hornets, bees or a combination of them.Residents said Sourath jungle has several hives and that both bees and wasps are commonly seen in the area. Medical staff at Medini Rai Medical College and Hospital (MMCH), Daltonganj, said it is often difficult for locals to distinguish between bees and wasps, leading to all such incidents being described as bee attacks.Doctors said multiple stings can trigger severe allergic reactions, breathing difficulty, a fall in blood pressure and anaphylactic shock. Such cases require urgent medical treatment. MMCH sources said Savita was not taken to a govt health facility before her death.Palamu civil surgeon Anil Kumar Srivastava said insect stings could cause an immediate and severe allergic reaction, potentially leading to respiratory distress and circulatory complications.Panki police station officer in-charge Deepak Kumar Singh said the local beat chowkidar had confirmed that Savita died after being stung by wasps or bees.Lesliganj sub-divisional police officer Prashant Kumar said another person, Kamesh Bhuiyan, was also attacked but suffered fewer stings and managed his condition at home.The incident comes days after 65-year-old Sudeshwar Sao of Khora village in Latehar district died after being attacked by a swarm of bees. He was taken to Barwadih community health centre in a critical condition but could not be revived, according to health officials.Jharkhand currently does not appear to have a specific compensation provision for deaths caused by bee, wasp or hornet stings, although the state provides ex gratia assistance in snakebite deaths. Other states have separate provisions. Uttarakhand provides Rs 6 lakh for deaths caused by honeybee and hornet attacks, while Himachal Pradesh has included honeybee, hornet and wasp stings under its disaster relief norms. Kerala’s current framework provides Rs 4 lakh from State Disaster Response Fund for deaths caused by snake, bee or wasp attack.
