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WHY$DO$SNAKES$MAKE$PEOPLE$SO$‘HSSSS’TERICAL?$6$THE$TRUTH$ABOUT$ SNAKES$AND$THEIR$VENOM.$$ Written!by!Gabriella!Mifsud!!!98103625!
When!snakes!come!to!mind!most!people!think!of!scaly,!fanged,!evil!villains!who!go!hunting!for!humans!and! swallow!animals!whole.!A!general!fear!of!snakes!is!common,!in!fact,!Ophidiophobia!is!the!second!most! common!phobia!in!the!world4.!Today,!I!will!shed!some!light!on!this!slithering!species!and!answer!the!burning! question!of,!‘what!is!it!about!snakes!that!that!make!people!so!“hssssterical”?’.!Firstly,!we!need!to!address!a! common!misconception!surrounding!snakes,!that!every!snake!species!is!deathly.!This!is!far!from!the!truth.! Snakes!are!divided!into!two!categories,!Venomous!and!NonTvenomous.! NonTvenomous!snakes!still!bite,! however!there!is!no!venom!injected!into!the!body!as!a!result!of!the!bite.!Venomous!snakes!however,!do! inject!a!toxic!venom!into!living!organisms,!resulting!in!serious!injuries!or!in!some!cases!death.!! ! Snakes$at$a$global$scale$! Each!year,!snake!bites!affect!the!lives!of!around!1.8T2.7!million! people.!Over!400!thousand!of!these!bites!result!in!amputations,! whilst!others!claim!the!lives!of!up!to!138!thousand!people7.!The! distribution! of! these!snake!envenomation’s!and!the!mortalities! that!occur!as!a!result!are!widely!inconsistent,!making!the!global! epidemiology!of!snakebites!a!major!concern.!The!highest!burden! is! inflicted! on! countries! such! as! South! and! Southeast! Asia,! and! SubTSaharan!Africa!where!healthcare!is!not!easily!accessible5,12.! These!countries!also!suffer!from!a!lack!of!education!surrounding! modern!day!medicines!such!as!antiTvenoms,!which!is!currently! the!most!effective!treatment!for!a!snakebite.! Image$1:$Tiger$snake$$ ! ! On!the!other!hand,!countries!of!the!developed!world!are!better!able!to!manage!and!treat!snake!bite! injuries,!drastically!reducing!their!fatality!rates.!Australia,!for!instance,!is!home!to!majority!of!the!world's! most!venomous!snakes!however! manages!to!have!as!little!as!3!fatalities! each!year!from!envenomation11.!You’re! probably!thinking!how!is!this!so?!This! can!be!attributed!to!the!availability!of! and!access!to!medical!facilities!in!both! rural!and!urban!areas,!appropriate!first! aid!training!and!the!high!quality! production!of!antivenoms7.!All!these! factors!contribute!to!enabling! Australians!to!be!somewhat!safeguarded! by!snakes!and!their!dangerous!bite.! ! Image$2:$Snakebite$in$developing$country$$ Classification$of$Snakes$$! There!are!approximately!3,200!known!individual!snake!species,!that!just!like!you! and!I,!are!categorized!into!hierarchical!groupings!via!the!process!of!taxonomic! classification2.!This!classification!system!allows!snakes!to!be!ordered!into!groups! based!on!their!geographical!location,!appearance!and!anatomical!features.!With! that!being!said,!snakes!belong!to!the!Reptilia!class,!and!along!with!their!scaled! lizard!ancestors!are!a!part!of!the!Squamata!order!of!reptiles2.!There!are!a!number! of!common!features!that!snakes!share!such!as,!the!presence!of!scales!and!forked! tongues,!along!with!the!absence!of!limbs,!eyelids!and!ear!openings.!It!is!these! distinguishable! characteristics!which!place!all!types!of!snakes!under!the!same! suborder!of!Serpentes.!Snakes!are!then!further!classified!by!being!broken!down! into! family,! genus!and!species.!For!example,!a!tiger!snake!belongs! to;!Family:! Elapidae,!Genus:!Notechis!and!Species:!Notechis)scutatus9.!! ! Each!of!the!3,200!different!species!of!snakes!are!grouped!into!about!20!different! families7.! Venomous! snakes! fall! into! just! 4! of! these! families;! Atractaspididae,! Colubridae,!Viperidae!which!is!the!most!widespread!in!the!world,!and!finally!the! Elapidae,!the!most!abundant!in!Australia7.!It!is!with!thanks!to!these!venomous! Elapids;!the!cobras,!adders,!and!tiger!snakes!to!name!a!few,!that!Australia!has! generated!its!reputation!for!being!home!to!the!world’s!most!dangerous!snakes.! Image$3:$Classification$tree$$ ! It's$not$the$bite$that$kills…$$ Think! of! venom! as! a! chemical! cocktail;! a! perfect! mixture! of! Common$Clinical$Features$of$a$ enzymes!and!proteins!that!are!mixed!perfectly!together!to!assist! snakebite$by$an$Australian$Elapid:$$ snakes!in!immobilizing!their!prey,!making!it!possible!for!them!to! 6 progressive!flaccid!paralysis! feed!and!digest .!This!means!that!envenomation,!the!release!of! o venom! into! the! body! via! the! bite! of! an! Elapid,! although! o drooping!of!the!patient’s! uncommon,!it!is!still!extremely!dangerous!and!life!threatening.! eyelids!! Attending!to!a!snake!bite!is!not!the!most!simplistic!of!tasks,!so! o blurred!vision!! therefore! people! need! to! acquaint! themselves! with! the! o nausea!! common!clinical!features!in!order!properly!treat!and!manage! o abdominal!pain!! the!toxic!snake!bite.!! o fainting!! ! o dysarthria!(unclear!speech! The! potent! symptoms! mentioned! in! figure! 13,10,! if! not! articulation)!!! recognized!early!enough!could!result!in!fatal!outcomes!such!as! Figure$1$ cardiac! arrest,! respiratory! depression,! seizures,! and! major! hemorrhages1,10.!! ! It!is!also!important!to!note!that!even!patients!who!suffer!from!a! dry!bite,!where!no!venom!is!released,!may!still!experience!some! of!these!symptoms.!That!being!so,!before!treating!the!patient!it! is!crucial!to!use!a!venom!detection!kit!in!order!to!determine!if! the!patient!was!actually!injected!with!the!venom,!and!if!so,!by! which! snake3.! This! enables! the! correct! antiTvenom! to! be! administered!to!the!victim,!therefore!increasing!the!efficacy!of! their!survival.!! Image$4:$Common$symptom$of$drooping$ ! eyelids$after$venomous$snakebite$ $ $ $ $ References:$$ ! 1.! Agency! for! clinical! information,! 2014,! Snakebite) and) spiderbite) Clinical) Management) Guidelines,) 3rd! edn,! Ministry!of!Health,!NSW!Australia.! ! 2.! Cornett,!B.,!2015,!Reptile!Knowledge,!How)many)different)types)of)snakes)are)there?,!United!States,!viewed!7! May!2018,!.! ! 3.! Daley,!B.,!2017,!‘Snakebite!treatment!and!management’,!Medscape,!Vol.!unknown.! ! 4.! Fearof.net,! 2018,! Ophidiophobia,! viewed! 12! May! 2018,! .! ! 5.! Global! Snakebite! Initiative,! 2018,! The) Snakebite) Problem,! viewed! 10! May! 2018,! .! ! 6.! Manly,! D.,! 2011,! Biting) the) hand) that) feeds,! Scientific! American,! Canada,! viewed! 7! May! 2018,! .! ! 7.! Nicholson,! G.,! 2018,! UTS! Pharmacology! Lecture,! Venoms) and) Toxins) 1H2,! viewed! 7! May! 2018,!
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