Multistate hunt for antivenom after exotic snake attacks Michigan man

A zoo in Toledo, Ohio, sent eight vials of antivenom to the Detroit hospital, though none worked

Chris Riotta
New York
Wednesday 01 August 2018 19:19 BST
Comments
A cobra is seen in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India November 9, 2016.
A cobra is seen in Jogi Dera (snake charmers settlement), in the village of Baghpur, in the central state of Uttar Pradesh, India November 9, 2016.

A snake bite has forced doctors to frantically call zoos and venom response programs across the country in search of antivenom medicine.

A 26-year-old man who was bitten by a cobra did not respond to the generic antivenom medicine he was initially provided at a Michigan-area hospital, before being airlifted to Detroit.

As his respiratory muscles became paralysed, doctors reportedly scrambled to locate a serum that would neutralize the rare snake venom coursing through his body.

A zoo in Toledo, Ohio sent eight vials of antivenom to the Detroit hospital, though none worked.

Later, his family members helped to identify the snake as a monocled cobra, which is native to southern Asia and contains some of the fastest-acting deadly venom in the world.

Woman removed from python after snake swallowed her whole

The man owned the albino monocled cobra as a pet in his home in Pinconning Township, Michigan, where he was bitten on 14 July. It didn't take long for the side-effects from the deadly venom to kick in; in just 20 minutes, the victim began vomiting and feeling nauseous.

Jason Barczy, communications manager at the Detroit Medical Centre, told USA Today that the reaction the man had to the snake bite was extremely rare.

"The generic antivenom, which covers many, but not all species of poisonous snakes, had little effect and the patient’s condition continued to worsen," he said. "Five cases like this might happen through the entire country in a given year."

The next day, the Miami-Dade County Venom Response Program sent 20 vials of a unique antivenom medicine to the Detroit medical centre via a commercial flight. The vials were administered to the victim through an IV that same day.

The man now remains in the Detroit hospital. Officials with the medical centre said he is on his way to recovering from the rare venomous bite.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in