Texas man bitten by severed snake head

A Texas man needed 26 doses of antivenom after being
bitten by the severed head of a rattlesnake.

Milo Sutcliffe and his wife, Jennifer, were
working in the garden of their home near Corpus Christi, in the
south-east of the state when they spotted a 4ft.-long
rattlesnake.

He approached the snake, whose bite can be
deadly if left untreated, and struck it with a garden spade,
decapitating it.

However, “moments later when he bent down to dispose
of the snake, the snake’s head bit him”, says local news channel
KIII-TV.

As Jennifer started driving her husband to the nearest
hospital, “he began having seizures, losing his vision and bleeding
internally”, says Houston news network KPRC-2.

Milo had to be airlifted to the hospital by emergency
helicopter. “Once there, doctors administered massive amounts of
the antivenom CroFab,” CBS reports.

“A normal person who is going to get bit is
going to get two to four doses of antivenom,” Jennifer told
KIII-TV. “He had to have 26 doses.”

A week on from the attack, Milo is on the road
to recovery but “still showing signs of weakened kidney function”
from the effects of the venom.

The episode serves as a “cautionary tale”, says
CBS. Snakes can remain alive for as long as an hour after they
appear to be dead, and retain some of their reflexes even after
decapitation.

Rather than attempt to dispose of a seemingly
dead snake oneself, “experts advise that it’s far better to retreat
indoors and call more experienced handlers from animal-control, the
local police or the fire department.”

Between 7,000 and 8,000 people are bitten by snakes in the
US every year, but the widespread availability of effective
anti-venom treatement means that only around five bites are
fatal.