Snakebites by venomous snakes in Brazilian serpentaria and zoos over a 10-year period (2012–2021)

IF 2.6 4区医学 Q2 PHARMACOLOGY & PHARMACY

Toxicon Pub Date : 2024-08-30 DOI:10.1016/j.toxicon.2024.108082

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Abstract

Despite the wide range of institutions that maintain venomous snakes in captivity in Brazil there are no comprehensive data on the occurrence of snakebites and envenomations in these places. We examined the range of native and exotic species of venomous snakes kept by Brazilian zoos and serpentaria (scientific and commercial) and assessed the frequency of snakebites in workers handling these snakes during a 10-year period (2012–2021). Twenty-two (73.3%) of 30 institutions returned a standard questionnaire, including 15 serpentaria and 7 zoos that together kept 10,607 venomous snakes in 2022/2023. Commercial and scientific serpentaria had many more snakes (n = 10,550, consisting of 10,499 native specimens and 51 exotic specimens) than zoos (n = 57 native specimens), with two genera accounting for the majority of native species (Bothrops spp. = 84.5% and Crotalus durissus ssp. = 13.5%). Thirty-seven snakebites were reported and involved primarily the hands (33), seven of which occurred during venom extraction and 30 in other circumstances, most of them while handling/manipulating the cages or snake boxes (10) and restraining (9) or feeding (5) the snake. In addition, there were two cases of venom accidently sprayed on the face, including the eyes. Most bites were caused by Bothrops spp. (31), followed by C. durissus ssp. (4), Lachesis muta (1) and Micrurus corallinus (1). Thirty-three bites (89.2%) were treated with antivenom, with four bites to the fingers by Bothrops spp. resulting in local functional sequelae. There were 366,918 venom extractions with a ratio of 1.9 bites/100,000 extractions; no bites were recorded in the six institutions that sedated the snakes prior to venom extraction, which accounted for 22.7% of all extractions. These findings show that although snakebites are rare in Brazilian zoos and serpentaria, severe envenomation may occur. The occurrence of snakebites could be reduced by measures such as sedation of the snakes before venom extraction.

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10 年间（2012-2021 年）巴西蛇园和动物园毒蛇咬伤情况

尽管巴西人工饲养毒蛇的机构种类繁多，但却没有关于这些场所发生蛇咬伤和毒液中毒的全面数据。我们调查了巴西动物园和蛇类饲养场（科学和商业）饲养的本地和外来毒蛇种类，并评估了在 10 年内（2012-2021 年）处理这些蛇类的工作人员被蛇咬伤的频率。30家机构中有22家（73.3%）交回了标准问卷，其中包括15家蛇馆和7家动物园，它们在2022/2023年间共饲养了10607条毒蛇。商业和科学蛇类饲养场的蛇类数量（n = 10,550 条，包括 10,499 条本地标本和 51 条外来标本）远多于动物园（n = 57 条本地标本），其中两个属的蛇类占本地物种的大多数（Bothrops spp.=84.5%和Crotalus durissus ssp.=13.5%）。有 37 起蛇咬伤报告，主要涉及手部（33 起），其中 7 起发生在取毒液时，30 起发生在其他情况下，大多数是在处理/操作笼子或蛇箱时（10 起），以及在限制（9 起）或喂食（5 起）蛇时。此外，还有两例毒液意外喷射到面部（包括眼睛）的情况。大部分被咬傷的蛇為 Bothrops spp.（31 條），其次為 C. durissus ssp.（4 條）、Lachesis muta（1 條）及 Micrurus corallinus（1 條）。有 33 人（89.2%）被咬伤后接受了抗蛇毒血清治疗，其中有 4 人的手指被两头蛇咬伤，导致局部功能性后遗症。毒液提取次数为 366,918 次，被咬次数与提取次数之比为 1.9/100,000；在毒液提取前对蛇进行镇静处理的六家机构中，没有被咬的记录，占所有提取次数的 22.7%。这些研究结果表明，虽然在巴西动物园和蛇类饲养场很少发生蛇咬伤事件，但严重的蛇咬伤仍有可能发生。采取一些措施可以减少蛇咬伤的发生，例如在提取毒液前对蛇进行镇静处理。

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来源期刊

Toxicon 医学-毒理学

CiteScore

4.80

自引率

10.70%

发文量

358

审稿时长

68 days

期刊介绍： Toxicon has an open access mirror Toxicon: X, sharing the same aims and scope, editorial team, submission system and rigorous peer review. An introductory offer Toxicon: X - full waiver of the Open Access fee. Toxicon''s "aims and scope" are to publish: -articles containing the results of original research on problems related to toxins derived from animals, plants and microorganisms -papers on novel findings related to the chemical, pharmacological, toxicological, and immunological properties of natural toxins -molecular biological studies of toxins and other genes from poisonous and venomous organisms that advance understanding of the role or function of toxins -clinical observations on poisoning and envenoming where a new therapeutic principle has been proposed or a decidedly superior clinical result has been obtained. -material on the use of toxins as tools in studying biological processes and material on subjects related to venom and antivenom problems. -articles on the translational application of toxins, for example as drugs and insecticides -epidemiological studies on envenoming or poisoning, so long as they highlight a previously unrecognised medical problem or provide insight into the prevention or medical treatment of envenoming or poisoning. Retrospective surveys of hospital records, especially those lacking species identification, will not be considered for publication. Properly designed prospective community-based surveys are strongly encouraged. -articles describing well-known activities of venoms, such as antibacterial, anticancer, and analgesic activities of arachnid venoms, without any attempt to define the mechanism of action or purify the active component, will not be considered for publication in Toxicon. -review articles on problems related to toxinology. To encourage the exchange of ideas, sections of the journal may be devoted to Short Communications, Letters to the Editor and activities of the affiliated societies.