A venomous snake was killed by 17-month old Lorenzo Ferreira Figueira in his home in the Brazilian town of Mostardas in Rio Grande do Sul state. He was playing in the garden with the family dog when Lorenzo suddenly became quiet. His mother noticed the silence and became concerned. She went to check on Lorenzo but found that he had already gone back into the house.
Jaine saw that the boy was bloody and a snake was hanging from his mouth. In alarm, Jaine and Lorenzo's father rushed the boy to the Sao Luiz hospital some 175 km from Porto Alegre for medical attention. The parents placed the dead snake in a jar and took this with them to be able to show the doctors for any necessary information on the anti-venom that may be required.
The attending physician, Dr. Gilmar Carteri told the young parents that the reptile may have died from their son's bite. The snake turned out to be the dangerous jararaca also known as a pit viper. Initially, Lorenzo's parents had thought that the family dog was responsible for killing it.
According to Dr. Carteri, "He bit the young jararaca close to its head, which immobilized it and prevented it from biting him."
"The boy was very shaken up - I think it was a self-defence instinct that kicked in, or he thought it was a toy."
Australian-based non-profit organisation Global Snake Bite Initiative says that snakebite envenoming affects 4.5 million people, with 2.7 million reported injuries and 125,000 reported deaths each year. In the Americas, largely in Latin America, 80,000 humans are bitten each year. Of these around 540 to 2,298 result in death. These figures are incomplete and underestimation is highly possible.
Lorenzo's jararaca is a viper variety that is found in Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. Unattended bite from this type of snake may cause haemorrhage, shock, kidney failure and eventually death.
