eyelash viper

[nimrodfiftyfour]

I have heard very contrasting things on the potency of these snake's venom. Some reports liken it to a large bee sting while others claim possibility of death or amputation. Which is true? Thanks for any info.

[JD@reptiles]

LMFAO. if it were like a bee sting i would have like a hundred of them. without treatment i would say it would probably result to amputation or possibly even death. Even with treatment you can face the same problems.

[psilocybe]

Originally posted by nimrodfiftyfour
I have heard very contrasting things on the potency of these snake's venom. Some reports liken it to a large bee sting while others claim possibility of death or amputation. Which is true? Thanks for any info.

If someone likens an eyelash viper bite to a beesting, they have no clue what the hell they are talking about. The second thing you heard is more along the lines of one.

Bites are similar in effect to that of Bothrops sp., though the extent is most likely less due to their smaller size than Bothrops...that being said, expect a bunch of necrosis and damage, possible amputation, and though death is somewhat rare from this species, it has happened. In any case, you are going to lose big if you get tagged.

[BlkMambaVenom]

I couldnt imagine comparing any viper species to a bee-sting. lol I hear some venon isnt as potent like the Copperheads but in either case , i am sure it hurts more then a bee sting. :)

[psilocybe]

Copperhead bites are still NOTHING like a beesting. Being repeatedly slammed on the bite area with a hammer, HARD, is one of the many vivid descriptions I've heard describing copperhead bites...that and, occasionally, amputation of the bitten appendage might be called for (i.e. bitten on the finger). This is not really common, but barring a dry bite, I highly doubt ANYONE would liken a copperhead bite to a beesting.

[ETET]

From scienctific findings of bothrechis ssp. venom, they are not very strong:

LD 50 : 1.6mg/kg (IV), 33.2mg/kg(Sub), venom yield: 10.0-20.0mg

But how severe of bites depends on lots of things, like area of the bite, full/dry bite, allergy reaction....etc. An abstract can give some idea:

Complications of Bothrops, Porthidium, and Bothriechis snakebites in Colombia. A clinical and epidemiological study of 39 cases attended in a university hospital
Toxicon, Volume 40, Issue 8, 1 August 2002, Pages 1107-1114
Rafael Otero, Johnayro Gutiérrez, María Beatriz Mesa, Edison Duque, Orlando Rodríguez, Jorge Luis Arango, Francisco Gómez, Alvaro Toro, Fidel Cano, Libia María Rodríguez et al.

The clinical and epidemiological features, as well as complications presented by 39 patients with Bothrops, Porthidium and Bothriechis snakebites, are described. Patients were admitted during 1 year in 25 hospitals of Antioquia and Choco and then, they were transferred to the Hospital Universitario San Vicente de Paul in Medellin, 30 of them because of the presence of complications, eight because of lack of antivenoms and another one because of the desire of his relatives. Thirty--one (79.5%) of the patients were male, 13 (33.3%) children, 59% of them were bitten at the lower extremities, the majority (74.4%) by Bothrops asper. Twenty-one (53.8%) of the patients were initially attended by traditional healers and sought medical attention at the local hospitals after 2h in 87.2% of the cases. Edema (100%), hemorrhage (74.4%), blistering (38.5%) and necrosis (38.5%), were the local signs of envenomation, while blood coagulation alteration (79.5%), hematuria (74.4%), gingival bleeding (43.6%), hypovolemic shock (23.1%) and oliguria (23.1%), were the systemic signs of envenomation. The final grade of envenomation was severe in 29 patients (74.4%). Thirty patients (76.9%) had one or more complications of the envenomation: acute renal failure (ARF), 15 (38.5%); soft-tissue infection, 12 (30.8%); central nervous system (CNS) hemorrhage, 5 (12.8%); compartment syndrome, 3 (7.7%); soft--tissue hematomas, 6 (15.4%); and Abruptio placentae, one (2.6%). There were four deaths (10.3%), two from ARF and two from cerebral hemorrhage. Fourteen other patients (35.9%) had sequelae. The onset of serotherapy after 2h of the bite was associated with the occurrence of ARF and CNS hemorrhage (p=0.02), as well as the risk of death and sequelae (RR=2.5).

Although most people in this study are bitten by bothrops asper, but bothriechis and bothrops venom are similar. Both of their bites have medical significance, just be careful if you have one...

ETET

[ETET]

Also, myotoxin has been found in bothriechis species, see the abstract below:

Isolation and characterization of a myotoxic phospholipase A2 from the venom of the arboreal snake Bothriechis (Bothrops) schlegelii from Costa Rica. Arch Biochem Biophys. 1997 Mar 15;339(2):260-6

Angulo Y, Chaves E, Alape A, Rucavado A, Gutierrez JM, Lomonte B.

Facultad de Microbiologia, Universidad de Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica.

A new myotoxic phospholipase A2 was isolated from the venom of the arboreal snake Bothriechis schlegelii (formerly Bothrops schlegelii) from Costa Rica, by ion-exchange chromatography on CM-Sephadex. B. schlegelii myotoxin I is a basic protein (pI > 9.3) with a subunit molecular weight of 15 kDa, which migrates as a dimer in sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under nonreducing conditions. This myotoxin is recognized by antibodies generated against Bothrops asper myotoxin II (a lysine-49 phospholipase A2), by both enzyme-immunoassay and gel immunodiffusion, in the latter case with a pattern of partial identity. The toxin induces rapid myonecrosis upon intramuscular injection in mice, as evidenced by the early increase in plasma creatine kinase activity and by direct intravital microscopic observation. B. schlegelii myotoxin I also induces edema in the mouse footpad assay and exerts lethal activity (LD50 approximately 2.5 microg/g) upon intravenous injection. The toxin has a low phospholipase A2 activity (4.2 microEq.mg-1.min-1) using egg yolk phospholipids as substrate. It also shows a weak anticoagulant effect in vitro. Its N-terminal sequence, SMYELGKMILLETGKNAATSYIAYG, shows 93% homology with both Bothrops asper myotoxin II and B. jararacussu bothropstoxin I, suggesting that B. schlegelii myotoxin I may be a new lysine-49 variant of this family of myotoxic phospholipases A2.

May be bothriechis species are more dangerous as people always think.

ETET