Tragic non-verbal autistic boy, 4, dies from curable snake bite after being unable to tell anyone what happened to him
Italo Alves dos
Santos
had been playing at his grandma's home in Equador city, Brazil, when a deadly rattlesnake bit his foot.
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4
The tragic incident occurred in the city of Equador, Brazil
Credit: Newsflash
4
Italo Alves dos Santos, 4, died after being bitten by a rattlesnake
Credit: Newsflash
4
Italo's worried family feared he had twisted his ankle and took him to the hospital
Credit: Newsflash
Despite predictably being in absolute agony, Italo wasn't able to tell his family he was bitten.
Instead, the four-year-old could only point to his swollen ankle due to being non-verbal.
Italo's worried family feared he had twisted his ankle and took him to the hospital.
Medical staffed scheduled an X-ray for the boy the following day - but it was too late.
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When Italo's condition progressively worsened overnight, his family rushed him to a major hospital a whopping 20 miles away in Santa Luzia, Paraiba state.
Medics then immediately recognised the signs of venom poisoning.
But tragically Italo was still unable to tell them what had bitten him while he was at his grandma's home.
The terrified family searched the house top-to-bottom before finding the rattler under the couch.
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Medics were then able to begin anti-venom treatment.
But Italo was already critically weakened, and tragically died a day later.
Championship official forced to shoo SNAKE off the course as it approaches player's ball in incredible scenes
Ecuador
city hall said in a statement: "We deeply regret the loss of the little Italo and join the pain of their family and friends at this difficult time."
The horrific incident comes after a scientist
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Tim Friede has been injected by
Snake venom kills up to 140,000 people each year and can leave over 420,000 people needing
The cases remain so high due to their being no universal antivenom against all snakebites.
But after nearly two decades of death-defying work, Tim's research may have finally paid off.
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His antibodies have now been shown to protect against fatal doses from a wide range of dangerous species in recent animal tests.
The American initially allowed himself to be bitten to help further his career on
He believed it would help him build up an immunity to protect himself when finding some of the world's worst snakes.
His bizarre plan once left the former truck mechanic fighting for his life after two
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Tim told the
4
Rattle snakes are often found in North and South America
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