Latest news with #venom
ABC News
2 days ago
- General
- ABC News
Inquest hears father unaware of 11yo Murgon boy's fatal snakebite
A Queensland father has told a coronial inquest he was not aware his 11-year-old son had been bitten by a brown snake and did not think it was necessary to call emergency services in the hours before he died. Tristian James Frahm, 11, died on or about November 21, 2021, at a Murgon property, three hours north of Brisbane. A coronial inquest into Tristian's death began in Toowoomba on Monday. Coroner Ainslie Kirkegaard will examine the events leading up to Tristian's death and the public awareness of snakebite symptoms and first aid treatments. An autopsy found the boy died from brown snake venom in his system, likely from the snakebite found on his right ankle bone. The inquest heard the boy was discovered in a paddock after falling off a ride-on mower on the afternoon of November 20, 2021. Tristian's father, Kerrod James Frahm, told the inquest on Monday he went to bring his son back from the paddock, where he had found him sitting upright and conscious. Mr Frahm said his son had complained of a sore stomach and feeling sick, but told him nothing about being bitten by a snake. He said Tristian had vomited at least twice in the hours since the mower incident. Mr Frahm said he checked his son for any injuries after he first vomited but could not see any obvious marks, including a snakebite. "I did check him over for scuff marks and stuff," he said. "We were out cutting wood throughout that day, and he had a few scratch marks on his arms as well." Detective Senior Constable Benjamin Van Der Lugt led the investigation into Tristian's death. He told the inquest there was evidence gathered during the investigation that the boy had told someone he had been bitten by a snake. However, he said police were also told that Tristian had been joking about the snakebite. Mr Frahm told the inquest he understood Tristian had earlier in the day "snuck" three cans of bourbon from an esky on the property and likely drunk them. Counsel assisting the coroner Sarah Ford asked Mr Frahm whether he had assumed Tristian's stomach complaints were due to drinking alcohol, to which he agreed. "He just kept saying he had pain in the belly and wanted to lay down," Mr Frahm said. "If I needed to [get medical attention] I would have, I wasn't aware of the snakebite at the time." The inquest heard Mr Frahm had two friends, Jacob Bryant and Rochelle Dorman, staying at the property when his son died. Mr Bryant told the inquest he recalled Mr Frahm being present when it was first suggested Tristian had been bitten by a snake. "We all started searching his legs, myself, Rochelle and Kerrod to see if we could see any signs of a snakebite but there was no evidence," Mr Bryant said. "[We were] looking over his legs and feet for anything that was there, then that's where the conclusion [came from Tristian that he was] intoxicated." Later, Magistrate Kirkegaard asked Ms Dorman whether Mr Frahm was present while she and Mr Bryant checked for any signs of a snakebite. Ms Dorman said Mr Frahm was elsewhere at the time and agreed Mr Bryant's "memory could be distorted". Mr Frahm said he discovered Tristian's body between 7am and 8am on November 21. The inquest heard phone reception was poor at the property and a person would have to travel a few minutes before being able to make a call. Police originally charged Mr Frahm with manslaughter for failing to uphold his duty of care to his son, but the Director of Public Prosecution dropped the charge in April 2024. Tristian's maternal grandmother, Samantha Skerritt, told the inquest her grandson was a "truly remarkable soul". She said he was "wise and kind beyond his years" with a "heart so big it touched everyone around him". "He was our light, our joy, our everything and the love he gave will forever be held in our hearts," Ms Skerritt said. The coronial inquest continues.
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
Inside the terrifying island where only soldiers and scientists are allowed to visit
This deadly island is swarming with 4,000 of the world's most lethal snakes and is deemed so dangerous that visiting it was been banned by the Brazilian government. Ilha de Queimada Grande sits 20 miles (32 km) off the coast of Sao Paolo, and is home to the golden lancehead viper. Understandably nicknamed 'Snake Island', the piece of land 4.6 million square feet (430,000 square metres) in size is the only place on Earth where Bothrops insularis, also known as the golden lancehead viper, is known to inhabit. The island is devoid of almost any human visitors, expect for a few scientists who are granted permission to study the snakes each year. It is also visited on occasion by the Brazilian navy, who tend to the autonomous lighthouse that was built back in 1909 before scampering clear. The island has come to be known as Snake Island with it being claimed there is one snake for every square metre. And it's also thought that poachers have been known to visit the island and claim a golden lancehead viper for their own, with their price fetching as high as £17,500 ($30,000) on the black market. The viper has been been evolving in isolation since rising sea levels cut the island off from the mainland 11,000 years ago, leaving the snakes on the island with limited sources of food. Migrating birds became the viper's main prey but the problem was, though, that most venoms take a while to act - sometimes as much as a few days. By the time the snake's venom killed the birds they would have moved elsewhere, so instead the snakes evolved an incredibly strong venom that can kill prey almost instantly. It is five times more potent than other snakes and can even melt human flesh. In humans, the bite from a golden lancehead viper carried a seven per cent chance of death. And before the island was deemed off-limits there were several stories of people succumbing to the deadly predators. One story tells of a fisherman who lost power in the engines of his boat. After drifting to the island he ventured inland, unaware of the terrors that lay in wait. When his boat was eventually discovered, he was found dead in a pool of blood covered in snake bites. The island has come to be known as Snake Island with it being claimed there is one snake for every square metr Another story is of the last lighthouse keeper to inhabit the island with his family. Rumour has it they ran in terror when snakes crawled in through their windows; their bodies were later found scattered across the island. The name of the island itself tells of its troubled history. Ilha de Queimada Grande roughly translates as 'the island of the slash-and-burn fire', so-called because of a failed attempt to develop a banana plantation on it. However, in the last 15 years the population of snakes on the island as reduced by as much as 15 per cent, due to a combination of vegetation removal and disease. And on the International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List the snakes are currently listed as critically endangered. With thousands of snakes remaining, however, it's probably still not the ideal holiday destination.
CBC
23-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
These venomous lizards helped make Ozempic. Now 2 are at Saskatoon zoo
The Saskatoon Forestry Farm & Zoo is now home to a pair of Gila monsters, venomous lizards that live primarily in Arizona and Mexico. Their venom played a significant role in the development of drugs used to treat diabetes and obesity.
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
NYC man bit by venomous copperhead snake on NJ bike path
A New York man dodged death when he was bit by a venomous snake while bike riding in New Jersey. Dan Geiger was pedaling along the Palisades Cliffs recently when he saw a snake in the middle of the bike path. 'I notice a lot of squashed snakes because snakes go out to the pavement to sun themselves or to gather heat, and I guess they're a target for automobiles,' Geiger told Fox 5. To prevent the animal from getting run over, he stopped to get off his bike and move it with his water bottle. Then disaster struck. 'I nudged it, it didn't, it was very lethargic seeming, and I just sort of nudged again, and I was just like too close, you know, my hand was just too close to its head, I guess, and it just, it struck me with precision and speed,' Geiger told the outlet. Geiger was able to call 911 with the help of two passersby, but he was already feeling the effects of the copperhead's bite. He was taken Hackensack University Medical Center, which has a team that specializes in treating bites from venomous snakes. While copperhead venom isn't usually deadly, it can cause serious symptoms like internal bleeding, swelling and tissue death. Daria Falkowitz, director of the Division of Medical Toxicology at Hackensack University Medical Center, told the station antivenom isn't a miracle cure. 'It just stops things from getting worse and so whatever tissue damage has already occurred prior to receiving it is there,' she said. Photos of the aftermath show Geiger's swollen, discolored right index finger. However, Falkowitz said because the antivenom was administered so quickly, Geiger likely avoided permanent damage. Copperheads are one of the 22 types of snakes native to New Jersey.
