Consult a regional poison control center or clinician with expertise in treating bites caused by African snakes for medical therapy including indications for giving antivenom, specific antivenom to use, and dosing. | |||
Common name | Scientific name | Additional effects | Antivenom |
Snakes causing paralysis | |||
Green and black mambas | Dendroaspis species | Paralysis only typical; green mambas occasionally cause local tissue injury | Polyvalent |
Desert black snake | Walterinnesia aegyptia | Paralysis only typical, occasionally local swelling, pain | Polyvalent |
Egyptian cobra | Naja haje | Local pain, swelling, blistering | Polyvalent |
Forest cobra | Naja melanoleuca | Paralysis only typical, local swelling | Polyvalent |
Rinkhals spitting cobra, ring-necked spitting cobra | Hemachatus haemachatus | Local¶, can spit venom | Polyvalent |
Cape cobra | Naja nivea | Paralysis only | Polyvalent |
Berg adder | Bitis atropos | Local swelling | None available |
Snakes causing local tissue damage¶ and systemic illness without paralysis | |||
Puff adder | Bitis arietans | Coagulopathy, hemorrhage, tissue necrosis, hypotension, and acute kidney injury | Polyvalent |
East African gaboon pit viper | Bitis gabonica | Coagulopathy, hemorrhage, tissue necrosis, hypotension, and acute kidney injury | Polyvalent |
Rhinoceros viper | Bitis nasicornis | Coagulopathy, hemorrhage, tissue necrosis, hypotension, and acute kidney injury | Polyvalent |
Carpet or saw scaled vipers | Echis species | Hemorrhage, coagulopathy, tissue necrosis, and acute kidney injury | Polyvalent and monovalent (do not use antivenoms raised against non-African Echis spp.) |
Horned viper | Cerastes species | Coagulopathy | Polyvalent |
Bush vipers | Atheris, Proatheris spp. | Coagulopathy | None available, but consider SAVP anti-Echis AV |
Mozambique spitting cobra | Naja mossambica | Tissue necrosis, venom spitter | Polyvalent |
Black necked spitting cobra | Naja nigricollis | Tissue necrosis, venom spitter | Polyvalent |
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