Fatal bothropic snakebite in a horse: a case report

The present study reports a snakebite in a horse in the state of ParĂ¡, Brazil. At initial evaluation the animal was reluctant to walk and had tachycardia, tachypnea, severe lameness, bleeding on the pastern and swelling around the left hind leg. Blood samples from the bleeding sites, took on the fir...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases
Main Authors: NS Silva, JAS Silveira, TT Albernaz, KF Campos, CMC Oliveira, NFQR Freitas, HA Bomjardim, JD Barbosa
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: SciELO 2011
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1590/S1678-91992011000400018
https://doaj.org/article/09e166468e8c4f0da4204ddeddade049
Description
Summary:The present study reports a snakebite in a horse in the state of ParĂ¡, Brazil. At initial evaluation the animal was reluctant to walk and had tachycardia, tachypnea, severe lameness, bleeding on the pastern and swelling around the left hind leg. Blood samples from the bleeding sites, took on the first day, showed leukocytosis and neutrophilia, whereas biochemical values of urea and creatinine were significantly increased. The chosen treatment was snake antivenom, fluid therapy, antibiotics, anti-inflammatory agents and diuretic drugs. On the fourth day of therapy, the hematological values were within normal parameters. There was improvement related to the clinical lameness and swelling of the limb. However, a decrease in water intake and oliguria were observed. On the seventh day the animal died. Necropsy revealed areas of hemorrhagic edema in the left hind limb and ventral abdomen; the kidneys presented equimosis in the capsule, and when cut they were wet. Moreover, the cortex was pale, slightly yellow and the medullary striae had the same aspect. Based on these data, we concluded that the snakebite in the present study was caused by Bothrops spp. and that renal failure contributed to death.