FreeLists / tn-bird / [TN-Bird] Snakebite Statistics for Tennessee (1997-2003)

["Wallace Coffey" <jwcoffey@xxxxxxxxxx>]

TN-Birders:

The following table is curious.  It may be good for those of us birding afield 
to pay more attention to possible encounters with venomous snakes.  

Note that the number of venomous bites reported by the Tennessee Department of 
Health from 1997 to 2003 has nearly doubled.  

While more males are bitten by venomous snakes than are men,  the increase for 
women doubled during the eight years reported.  Men were up about 164 percent 
of the 1997 total.  

It is noteworthy that nonvenomous snakes showed no significant increase for 
either males or females being bitten.  Over the period reported women were 
bitten about 50 times per year and men about 100 times.

Obviously these are for snakebites reported to officials and do not include 
those which went untreated or unreported (more likely in the case of 
nonvenomous snakes).  While nonvenomous snakes are not quick to bite person 
walking or working nearby,  many people young and old do catch and handle them. 

It would be interesting to see the conditions for each bite.  One can imagine 
that the rapid growth of hobby handlers keeping snakes may have some 
influenced.  Men are more likely than women to be bitten by venomous snakes 
probably because more men are employed in contruction, contracting, timber 
cutting crews, land clearing and generally working in environments where such 
bites could occur.  I am not sure which way I think the trend would be on 
general outdoor recreation.
Snakebite Statistics for Tennessee (1997-2003)

      Year
     Female 
     Male
     Total
     
      vVenomous Bite
     Nonvenomous Bite
     Venomous Bite
     Nonvenomous Bite
     
      1997
     58
     48
     144
     89
     339
     
      1998
     84
     50
     164
     109
     407
     
      1999
     96
     50
     188
     112
     446
     
      2000
     95
     54
     187
     98
     434
     
      2001
     95
     58
     212
     99
     464
     
      2002
     107
     55
     219
     105
     486
     
      2003
     121
     51
     236
     101
     509
     
      Total
     656
     366
     1350
     715
     3085
     



No reported deaths from snake bites from 1997 to 2003.


Source: Tennessee Department of Health, Office of Policy, Planning and 
Assessment, Division of Health Statistics. June 2005.

Let's go birding.....

Wallace Coffey
Bristol, TN