Brief Report
Most lay people can correctly identify indigenous venomous snakes

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajem.2005.03.008Get rights and content

Abstract

We attempted to determine how accurately members of the public can identify venomous snakes. Six different snakes indigenous to southern California were displayed in cages for 265 people to view at a street fair. These included 4 nonvenomous snakes and 2 venomous snakes. People were asked whether the snake was venomous and the name of the snake, if they knew it. Overall, people recognized whether a snake was venomous or nonvenomous 81% of the time. They were most accurate at identifying rattlesnakes as being venomous (95%) but incorrectly identified nonvenomous snakes as being venomous 25% of the time. Men were more accurate than women, and adults were more accurate than children. Subjects were less well able to identify the exact species of snakes. The results suggest that there may be no need to capture, kill, or bring a snake to the hospital for identification, at least in this geographic area.

Introduction

There are several thousand crotaline snake envenomations each year in the United States resulting in 1 to 2 deaths [1], [2], [3] although there is some evidence that these numbers may be underreported [4]. Management decisions in cases of suspected snakebites, are problematic because the identity of the snake is often not known [1], [2], [3], many bites are dry and do not produce envenomation [5], and the treatment can be associated with significant morbidity [6].

To more accurately identify those patients requiring antivenin, some sources have suggested that the captured or killed snake be brought to the ED with the victim [7], [8], [9], [10], [11]. The inherent danger in this practice is obviously the risk of additional envenomations (to the victim or others) from the attempts to capture, kill, or transport the snake. To determine the need for this practice in southern California, we tested the lay public's ability to identify indigenous venomous and nonvenomous snakes.

Section snippets

Methods

Specimens of live venomous and nonvenomous snakes were displayed to the public to determine how accurately they could be identified. All snakes were mature specimens and were common to the geographic area. The displayed nonvenomous snakes were gopher snake (Pituophis melanoleucus catenifer), San Bernardino mountain king snake (Lampropeltis zonata parvirubra), California common king snake (Lampropeltis getulus californiae), and California rosy boa (Lichanura trivirgata gracia). The displayed

Results

A total of 281 subjects were entered into the study. Of these, 265 completed the data forms and were eligible for analysis. Of those that indicated their ages, 72 were children (<18 years) and 169 were adults (≥18 years). Median age was 25 years with a range from 4 to 64 years. Of those that indicated their sex on the form, 104 were female and 110 were male (these data are noted in Table 1).

The percentage of subjects who correctly identified the snakes as being poisonous or nonpoisonous is

Discussion

Antivenin administration is associated with some morbidity. The primary complications of Antivenin (Crotalidae) Polyvalent (Wyeth-Ayerst Laboratories, Collegeville, PA) are hypersensitivity reactions. Anaphylaxis and anaphylactoid reactions occur more than 20% of the time [5], [12]. Delayed serum sickness approaches 75% in those receiving large doses [13]. A new preparation, Crotalidae Polyvalent Immune Fab (Ovine [CroFab, Altana, Inc, Melville, NY]), appears to have fewer side effects but is

Acknowledgments

Redlands Market Night.

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