Each year in the United States there are approxomately 8,000 venomous snake bites. An estimated 25% of these venomous snake bites are "dry bites". "Dry bites" are bites by venomous snakes where no venom is actually injected by the snake. These 8.000 or so venomous snake bites result in an average of 12 human deaths in the United States each year. In Texas, we average only one human death per year as a result of someone being bitten by a venomous snake.
Only a small portion of these venomous snake bites make it into the news media. Below, we are providing copies of news stories from around the country involving some of the more serious or noteworthy snake bite cases. When selecting news stories for inclusion here here we do give preference to those cases that have occured in Texas, as that is our major geographic area of interest here.
Please understand that these are news accounts of these snake bite cases and as such many are written by people with no in-depth knowledge of the subject matter, therefore some of the medical and scientific details may not be 100% accurate.
If you are aware of a serious venomous snake bite incident that has recently been in the news, we encourage you to email us an on-line link to the story, so that we may consider it for inclusion here.
THE PROGRESS (Three Rivers, Texas) 24 April 08
George West Man Survives Coral Snake Bite
THE CORPUS CHRISTI CALLER TIMES (Texas) 22 April 08
Coral Snakes Bite 2
HOUSTON CHRONICLE (Texas) 22 March 08
3-Year-Old Boy's Encounter With A Snake At A Coastal Park Is Being Called 'A Rarity'
LAS CRUCES SUN-NEWS (New Mexico) 29 January 08
Deming (N.M.) Snake Wrangler Dies of Rattlesnake Bite
THE DAILY SENTINEL (Nacogdoches, Tx.) 17 March 07
Cushing (Tx.) Man Dies Week After Snake Bite
DAILY NEWS JOURNAL (Murfreesboro, Tn.) 04 October 06
Snake Bite 'Not Like the Movies'
THE HERALD (Sierra Vista, Arizona) 20 August 06
Cochise County (AZ.) Snake Bites More Potent
THE EAGLE (Bryan, Texas) 27 Jun 06
Former Police Chief Dies After Snake Bite
BONITA DAILY NEWS (Florida) 13 Jun 06
Bonita, Fl. Man Might Be First Coral Snake Victim In Forty Years
THE UVALDE LEADER-NEWS (Texas) 28 Nov 05
Utopia Tx. Man Recounts Event After Suffering Rattlesnake Bite
FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER (North Carolina) 08 Oct 05
Bladen County (N.C.) Man Dies From Apparent Snake Bite
