Venomous Bites From Non Venomous Snakes A Critical Analysis Of Risk And Management Of Colubrid Snake Bites

This book is the first significant contribution to thoroughly examine the potential hazards associated with snakes of the former family, Colubridae. This family contained >65% of living snake species (approximately 3,000 taxa) and has recently been split into multiple families. Many of these snakes produce oral secretions that contain toxins and other biologically-active substances. A large variety of these snakes figure in the pet industry, yet little documented information or formal study of their potential medical importance has been published. Therefore, although the possible medical importance of many of these species has been subjected to speculation since the mid-nineteenth century, there is a limited amount of useful descriptive information regarding the real hazard (or lack thereof) of snakes belonging to this diverse, artificial family. There is a need for "one-stop shopping" offering information regarding their possible toxicity and clinical relevance as well as recommendations for medical management of their bites. This book is the first synthesis of this information and includes evidence-based risk assessment, hazard rankings and specific recommendations regarding important species, many common in captivity. Fills a gap in the toxinological, medical and herpetological literature by providing a comprehensive review of this entire assemblage of snakes, with particular attention given to their capacity, real or rumored, to cause harm to humans A patient-centered, evidence-based approach is applied to analyzing documented case reports of bites inflicted by approximately 100 species. Clinical management of medically significant bites from non-front-fanged colubroids is methodically reviewed, and specific recommendations are provided

"Venomous" Bites from "Non-Venomous" Snakes, Second Edition thoroughly examines the potential hazards associated with bites by non-front-fanged snakes (popularly, but inaccurately, called "rear-fanged snakes"). This diverse group contains approximately 80% of living snake species (approximately 2,900 species). A large proportion of these snakes were previously assigned to the family Colubridae but, as a consequence of expanding systematics investigations, have been split into multiple families and subfamilies. Many of these snakes produce venoms or oral secretions that contain toxins and other biologically active substances. A large variety of non–front-fanged snakes figure in the pet industry, yet little documented information or formal study of their potential medical importance has been published. Therefore, although the possible medical importance of many of these species has been subjected to speculation since the mid-19th century, there is a limited amount of useful descriptive information regarding the real hazard (or lack thereof) of this wide variety of snakes. The first edition of this book provided "one-stop shopping" by offering information regarding their possible toxicity and clinical relevance as well as recommendations for medical management of their bites. The second edition expands and updates the content with detailed information about the effects and medical management of bites by a broad representation of non–front-fanged species. The hypothetical venomous nature of some lizards considered as non-venomous such as the Komodo monitor or dragon and their allies, as well as the medical effects of their bites, is also examined. The dynamic taxonomy of advanced snakes is updated, and the bases for some of these fluid changes are discussed. Likewise, terminology is also updated in order to reflect the ongoing debates regarding the definition of "venom" and the balanced reinforcement of nonmedical criteria used to define the biological basis of the term "venomous." Fills a gap in toxicological, medical, and herpetological literature by providing a comprehensive review of this entire assemblage of non–front-fanged snakes, with particular attention given to their capacity to cause harm to humans Offers a patient-centered, evidence-based approach which is applied to analyzing documented case reports of bites inflicted by a broad representation of species Provides expanded and updated detailed information on the clinical management of medically significant bites from non–front-fanged snakes, which is also methodically reviewed, and specific recommendations are provided Includes updates of the fluid taxonomy of advanced snakes and also of terminology with particular regard to the definition of "venom" and the nonmedical criteria used to define the biological basis of the "venomous condition" in snakes and lizards

Australia’s venomous snakes are widely viewed as the world’s most deadly and are regarded with cautious curiosity, fascination and, regrettably, fear. Australia’s Dangerous Snakes examines the biology, natural history, venom properties and bite treatment of medically important venomous marine and terrestrial snakes. It contains comprehensive identification profiles for each species, supported by keys and photographs. In addition to their medical importance, the environmental roles of these snakes and the threats that are causing the decline of many of these reptiles are discussed. Drawing on the authors’ experience in the fields of herpetology, toxinology and clinical medicine, this book stimulates respect and admiration and dispels fear of Australia’s fascinating snakes. Australia’s Dangerous Snakes will provide hours of rewarding reading and valuable information for anyone interested in Australia’s unique wildlife and natural history, and will be an essential reference for herpetologists, toxinologists, physicians, zoo personnel and private snake collectors.

With consultation of Dr. Helen Boucher, Drs. Libman and Younsouni have put together an issue that provides current updates on a wide range of topics in tropical medicine. They have enlisted top experts from around the world to offer their expertise on state-of-the-art diagnosis, treatment, and management. The clinical reviews in this issue are devoted to: Tropical Diseases: Definition, Geographic Distribution, Transmission, and Classification; Venomous Bites, Stings, and Poisoning; What’s New in Management in the Management of Malaria; Human African Trypanosomiasis; American Trypanosomiasis; Leishmaniasis – Recent Developments in the Diagnosis and Management; Enteric Infections: New Paradigms for Causality and Key Pathogens; Enteric Infections: New Paradigms for Morbidity; Strongyloides, the Neglected NTD: Current Concepts for Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment; Cysticercosis: State-of the Art Management; Arboviruses and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers; Laboratory Diagnosis of Tropical Infections; Diagnostics During Public Health Emergencies: Lessons from Ebola and Zika; Antimicrobial Resistance; Migration Medicine in 2018; and Richettsiosis: Practical Update. Readers will come away with the information they need to make clinical decisions with confidence.

Snakebites are well-known medical emergencies in many parts of the world especially in rural areas. Agricultural workers and children are most affected. The incidence of snakebite mortality is particularly high in South-East Asia. Rational use of snake anti-venom can substantially reduce mortality and morbidity due to snake bites. These guidelines are a revised and updated version of those published in 2011. The geographical coverage extends from India in the west to DPR Korea and Indonesia in the east Nepal and Bhutan in the north and to Sri Lanka and Indonesia in the south and south-east. Snakes inhabiting the Indonesian islands east of Wallace?s line (West Papua and Maluku Islands) are part of the Australasian elapid fauna differing from those west of this line. This publication aims to pass on a digest of available knowledge about all clinical aspects of snake-bite to medically trained personnel including medical doctors nurses dispensers and community health workers. They aim to provide suffcient practical information to allow medically trained personnel to assess and treat patients with snake-bites at different levels of the health service.

A decade after publication of the first edition, Handbook of Venoms and Toxins of Reptiles responds to extensive changes in the field of toxinology to endure as the most comprehensive review of reptile venoms on the market. The six sections of this new edition, which has nearly doubled in size, complement the original handbook by presenting current information from many of the leading researchers and physicians in toxinology, with topics ranging from functional morphology, evolution and ecology to crystallography, -omics technologies, drug discovery and more. With the recent recognition by the World Health Organization of snakebite as a neglected tropical disease, the section on snakebite has been expanded and includes several chapters dealing with the problem broadly and with new technologies and the promises these new approaches may hold to counter the deleterious effects of envenomation. This greatly expanded handbook offers a unique resource for biologists, biochemists, toxicologists, physicians, clinicians, and epidemiologists, as well as informed laypersons interested in the biology of venomous reptiles, the biochemistry and molecular biology of venoms, and the effects and treatment of human envenomation.

This book is about snakebite and snake identification in ancient Egypt. The authors--in a remarkable collaboration between the fields of Egyptology, medicine, herpetology, biology, and ecology--offer a new examination of the Brooklyn Medical Papyrus, better-known as the Snakebite Papyrus, a pragmatic medical treatise concerned with snake identification, snakebite, and treatment. Dating to sometime in the seventh through fourth centuries BCE, the document is the first-known structured treatise on snakebites from antiquity. The preserved paragraphs name 24 snakes (and one chameleon), providing a brief description of the snake, sometimes its habits, the appearance of its bite, and the effects on the victim. The papyrus was intended to enable the ancient physician to identify the snake from the description given by the patient in order to give appropriate prognosis and treatment. As there was little effective treatment for snake bites in ancient Egypt, sometimes the physician resorted to magical incantations to invoke divine assistance. The Snakebite Papyrus was first translated into French by Serge Sauneron and published posthumously in 1989. Major advances in fields such as biogeography, climate and niche modeling, and linguistics in the past thirty years have brought new perspectives. The authors provide a review of Sauneron's and more recent studies and bring their own investigations, results, and comparisons to further clarify this remarkable historical document.