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Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
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by tigers9 on April 20, 2009
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http://www.cbs8.com/Global/story.asp?S=10217330
Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
Apr 20, 2009 5:53 PM PDT Apr 20, 2009 7:12 PM PDT
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Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
2:46
It's rattlesnake season, and some say this year could be deadlier than ever. Some reports show more people are being bitten, and they're suffering more extreme - sometimes fatal - consequences. But one local snake expert disagrees.
The Southern Pacific Rattlesnake comes out between the months of April and October, so well into the season there are emerging reports that say this species is becoming increasingly deadly.
Doctor Roy Johnson, a physician and herpetologist, has studied snakes for more than 30 years and says reports that the rattlesnake found in San Diego County is becoming "extra toxic" are bogus.
"They're very adaptable and they do well in an environment like this where you have a lot of people moving out into more rural areas, and there are just still lots snakes out here," he said.
Johnson has studied snakes for more than 30 years, and says reports that the rattlesnakes found in San Diego County are becoming "extra toxic" is bogus.
"Most often severe envenomations occur because people are bitten more than one time," Dr. Johnson said.
But the rumors sounded like they could be true, especially when our own News 8 Chopper reporter Jo Eager was bitten last year. Eager spent more than two weeks in the hospital, and couldn't walk for days.
"There wasn't much of a warning
"It felt like a thorn had been hammered right by ankle bone," she said. "I could feel things swelling up, my breathing became more difficult."
Johnson says adverse reactions have a lot to do with how soon a person receives medical attention. The sooner a snakebite victim gets anti-venom, and enough doses of it, the better off that person will be. So reports that the Southern Pacific's venom is packing a bigger punch are just a myth.
"Evolution is a very slow process. Venoms don't change," Dr. Johnson said.
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RE: Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
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by puffadder7 on April 20, 2009
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i believe rattlesnakes are evolving more toxic venom to subdue prey that has built up a immunity, what a stupid thing to say that venom is not evolving, arin
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RE: Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
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by CAISSACA on April 20, 2009
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Rattlesnake venom is certainly evolving. However, it is not evolving on a scale of years or decades and in mutliple places at the same time. All this stuff is just rumour and hearsay, there has been no comprehensive study showing that rattlesnake envenomations are getting more severe anywhere.
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RE: Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
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by earthguy on April 21, 2009
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"Evolution is a very slow process. Venoms don't change," Dr. Johnson said.
This has to be a misquote or a misunderstanding. The Doc is saying Evolution (change) happens...but venoms don't change? I've been misquoted enough in the local paper that I now choose my words VERY carefully :-)
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RE: Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
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by Chance on April 21, 2009
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This is why I want to continue teaching science, biology specifically. Lots of misconceptions out there about evolution and its processes.
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RE: Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
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by Chance on April 21, 2009
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As for the quote, I'm guessing part of what he said was cut off. I can only assume he really said "Venoms don't change very quickly" or something to that extent. Obviously they do change, but the fact that it takes millenia is lost on some people.
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RE: Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
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by Phobos on April 21, 2009
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I guess this guy never talked to Dr. Sean Bush or the folks at NTRC who have demonstrated changes in the venoms of C. helleri. You cannot blame it on multipule bites, just watch a few episodes of Venom ER.
Al
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RE: Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
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by BGF on April 21, 2009
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No, Sean does not think the venom is changing. Rather he is seeing unusual reactions as population centers spread and new variants are encountered. Venom changes on a glacial scale from the human perspective. It takes 1000s of years for appreciable changes to accumulate. So we are seeing what has always been there (in recent relevant history) not what is changing before our eyes.
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RE: Is Rattlesnake Venom More Poisonous Than Ever?
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by AquaHerp on April 22, 2009
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Thanks Brian and Al for clearing that up. We are still working on helleri and there are a few others too showing a lot of variance. Although this is something that we have all known for quite a while.
DH
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