Safety: preparing for the worst

A Hog-nosed pit-viper encountered on the footpath used to get from Kewediono to the city of Tena (you  catch a bus at a place called the "Y" an hours walk away from the Kichwa community of Selva Amazonica.  This is a venomous snake.

5% of Waodani deaths can be attributed to bites from venomous snakes.  Just in 2011, three inhabitants of the community of Kewediono were bitten by venomous snakes.  Luckily, all survived.  When Ciara was bitten at 11:15am on July 14th by Leptomicrurus narduccii melanotus, a coral snake, it became all too clear that more needed to be done in order to prepare for snake-bite emergencies.  While there are numerous species of coral snakes found in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Ecuador does not posess any antivenom for coral snakes.  It is critical that doctors in the hospital Voz Andes of Shell, the Ecuadorian hospital closest to the Sesna airport where most snake bite victim's are flown to, be trained in treating both coral snake and pit-viper bites and that both anti-venoms be readily available.  We would like to organize a workshop in this hospital, led by the Floria Poison Information Center.


If you would like to contribute to make this training worshop possible, to purchase coral snake antivenom (to be stored and administered in this hospital for snakebite emergencies), and to purchase snake-venom extractors for the families of the Association of Kewediono ($20 per unit, shown to be somewhat effective to remove 1/3 of the venom if used within the first 5 minutes following a bite) please contact Ciara.