Vergiftungen durch exotische Haustiere

Medical management of a child treated for two unique envenomation episodes via captive snakes in a 60-day period: A case report

Venomous snake bites can result in irreversible damage, leading to respiratory dysfunction, bleeding disorders, kidney damage, or serious complications. In recent years, with the popularity of online shopping in China, snakes can be easily purchased and kept as pets, even if some areas are not natural habitats for certain kinds of snakes. A 13-year-old boy purchased two venomous snakes online as pets. On April 16, 2019,the boy was bitten by a B. multicinctus(Bungarus multicinctus), and he had mild difficulty breathing and limb weakness. He was discharged after symptomatic treatment with B. multicinctus antivenom. On June 17, 2019, the boy was bitten a second time by a short-tailed pit viper (Gloydius brevicaudus) resulting in swelling and necrosis of the left hand. After a systemic and comprehensive treatment was implemented, including Agkistrodon halys antivenom injections, infection control, hormone therapy, improved circulation, negative pressure wound therapy, skin graft, and nutritional support, the boy recovered. This case provides valuable insights for diagnosing and treating venomous snake bites and their complications while also raising public awareness about the hazards of purchasing venomous snakes online,and it also provide case support for the improvement of online shopping for minors, wildlife protection, and live animal mailing management, helping to prevent such incidents from happening again.

Venomous spiders of Albania –does an increase of temperature influence the toxicity of spider venom?

Black widow spiders (Latrodectus sp.) are distributed worldwide, and in Albania the L. tredecimguttatus Rossi, 1790 has been the dominant spider. Other medically important spiders in Albania include the brown recluse with symptoms known as loxoscelism, the false black widow and the egg sac spiders; the last two inducing similar symptoms to a wasp sting. Methods: The data analyzed is from a decade-long study of 125 patients hospitalized in the regional hospital of Fier County, in the Western Lowland of Albania from May 2009 and to October 2018. Objective: Although the venom is rarely fatal, the recent spider bites raise questions about the influence of higher air temperatures on their possibly increased toxicity. Results: Significantly the severity of the α-latrotoxin rises during the summer, when human–spider contact frequency is higher and when the black widow spiders have an increased motivation to protect their egg sacs. Conclusion: This study revealed an increased severity of the black widow bites with respect to patient health, shown via all the severe systemic symptoms, during those months with higher temperatures.

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The spider bites revealed a higher venom severity during summer, when there was a higher human-spider contact frequency.

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The longer recovery times are probably related to the quantity and toxicity of the spider venom á-latrotoxin.

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Extreme environmental conditions increase the spider motivation to protect the egg sac and self-protect.

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Higher environmental temperatures may thus lead to higher black widow venom toxicity during the hot summer months.

Plants and zootoxins: Toxico-epidemiological investigation in domestic animals

An epidemiological study on animal poisoning due to plants and zootoxins has been carried out by the Poison Control Centre of Milan (CAV) in collaboration with the University of Milan (Italy). During the period January 2015-March 2019, the CAV received 932 calls on animal poisonings, 12.66% (n = 118) of which were related to plants and zootoxins. Among these, 95 enquiries (80.51%) concerned exposures to plants and 23 (19.49%) to zootoxins. The dog was the species most frequently involved (67.80% of the calls, n = 80), followed by the cat (26.27%, n = 31). As for the plants, several poisoning episodes were related to glycoside-, alkaloid-, oxalate- and diterpenoid-containing species. Cycas revoluta, Euphorbia pulcherrima and Hydrangea macrophylla were the most often reported plants. The outcome has been reported for half of the episodes (51.58%, n = 49) and it was fatal for 3 animals (6.12%). Regarding the zootoxins, the majority of the enquiries were related to asp viper (Vipera aspis), but exposures to pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa), common toad (Bufo), fire salamander (Salamandra), and jellyfish (phylum Cnidaria) were also reported. The outcome was known in 65.22% of the cases with just one fatal episode. This epidemiological investigation depicts an interesting overview on the issue of plant and zootoxin exposures in domestic animals, highlighting the relevance of these agents as causes of animal poisoning and providing useful information for prevention and diagnosis.