Al Cruz -
Envenomations of Native and Exotic Snakes
We were very pleased to have Al Cruz of Miami-Dade
Fire Rescue (MDFR)
with us for a short-notice, special presentation. Al gave
a very informative talk about how the venom bank got started,
some statistics on snakebites, and many examples of calls he has
been on, complete with gruesome photos! Venom One (Al's
call sign) was adopted by the MDFR in July of 1998.
Currently, they have 98% of the world's antivenoms. They
can deploy statewide, nationwide or internationally within hours
of being notified. A few interesting statistics of US
snakebites include, 90% by pit vipers, 8% by exotics, and 2% by
coral snakes. Here are some of the stats from Florida:
* 200 venomous
snakebites in Florida yearly
*1980-1998, 20
exotic snakebites in Florida (5 fatal)
*Miami is the
largest importer of of venomous snakes in the US
Fire Rescue (MDFR)
with us for a short-notice, special presentation. Al gave
a very informative talk about how the venom bank got started,
some statistics on snakebites, and many examples of calls he has
been on, complete with gruesome photos! Venom One (Al's
call sign) was adopted by the MDFR in July of 1998.
Currently, they have 98% of the world's antivenoms. They
can deploy statewide, nationwide or internationally within hours
of being notified. A few interesting statistics of US
snakebites include, 90% by pit vipers, 8% by exotics, and 2% by
coral snakes. Here are some of the stats from Florida: