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lee2308
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2597 Posts |
 Posted - 08/10/2009 : 23:53:07
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Heres one for all you clever lot,can snake bites pass on blood related infections.As a example,if a snake bit some one with lets say hep,hiv or even aids,could this be passed on if the snake bit some one else,as it would be like sharing needles or wouldnt these infections survive within a snakes system  I know it's not a nice thought but have often wondered about this. |
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spor
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1226 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2009 : 02:42:18
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| mmmmmmmmmmmm. interesting question, i would guess that as long as the contaminates remained active in the snake mouth then yes. however i am not sure, as you said if these illness can physically be passed on to the snake/survive in its system. wild snakes can carry a lot of nasty infections in their mouths that do not damage the snakes but can lead to nasty infections passed on through bites. |
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kimitree
Hatchling
United Kingdom
77 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2009 : 09:19:29
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As for snakes being carriers for such viruses I'm not sure. Like Spor said, a lot can carry around bacteria/viruses that do them no damage, but if we were exposed through a bite it would not be pleasant.
But if a snake bit a person who has a blood-borne virus which drew blood, and then bit another person straight after there would be a risk of infection. Even then the risk would be pretty low, if you think about the time it takes for the skin to start bleeding and the chance of the snake getting blood in it's mouth, unless it was multiple bites to the same area.
Will check with the o/h tonight to see how long HIV/Hep can survive outside a human body. I have a thought that you can still get HIV from an infected needle up to 5 days after it has been used, but will need to check that out. |
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Edited by - kimitree on 09/10/2009 09:20:24 |
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reptilekeeper1992
Yearling
United Kingdom
331 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2009 : 09:37:48
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i found this:
Scientists and medical authorities agree that HIV does not survive well in the environment, making the possibility of environmental transmission remote. HIV is found in varying concentrations or amounts in blood, semen, vaginal fluid, breast milk, saliva, and tears. (See below, Saliva, Tears, and Sweat.) In order to obtain data on the survival of HIV, laboratory studies have required the use of artificially high concentrations of laboratory-grown virus. Although these unnatural concentrations of HIV can be kept alive under precisely controlled and limited laboratory conditions, CDC studies have showned that drying of even these high concentrations of HIV reduces the number of infectious viruses by 90 to 99 percent within several hours. Since the HIV concentrations used in laboratory studies are much higher than those actually found in blood or other specimens, drying of HIV- infected human blood or other body fluids reduces the theoretical risk of environmental transmission to that which has been observed--essentially zero.
Incorrect interpretation of conclusions drawn from laboratory studies have alarmed people unnecessarily. Results from laboratory studies should not be used to determine specific personal risk of infection because 1) the amount of virus studied is not found in human specimens or anyplace else in nature, and 2) no one has been identified with HIV due to contact with an environmental surface; Additionally, since HIV is unable to reproduce outside its living host (unlike many bacteria or fungi, which may do so under suitable conditions), except under laboratory conditions, it does not spread or maintain infectiousness outside its host.
HIV is sensitive to fluctuations in temperature and the presence of oxygen. One place that HIV has been know to survive in is drug injection syringes since these are airtight and often contain blood from the injector.
Maybe, like kimitree says, if the snake bit someone with HEP/HIV then bit someone straight after then yea, there is a possible risk of infection, but if it was several hours then maybe not, because of the temperature change the virus is exposed to, and maybe the bit of blood the snake was in contact with had gone, the saliva in the snake could have got rid of the blood or something, but all in all not really sure....
is a really good question though |
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Debbie
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
28 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2009 : 20:38:45
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| Now you have got me thinking about tetanus too. I know that if a dog bites you then you must have a tetanus jab if it is not up to date. And in Europe what about rabies? I wonder the core body temperature of a creature makes a difference.. hmmmmmm curiouser and curiouser... |
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Gingerpony
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2663 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2009 : 21:04:16
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some things can't be passed between species....... like my dog can't get myxo if he picks up a rabbit with it, and neither can i....... and dogs and cats don't need covering for tetanus cos it can affect people and horse for example but not them........
interesting concept regarding the possibility of being a carrier between two susceptable species though |
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lee2308
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2597 Posts |
Posted - 09/10/2009 : 22:40:39
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i was thinking more of long term,not biting then biting again straight away.I wouldnt of thought it would actuly affect the snake but did wonder if it could survive in is system long term.Maybe reps being cold blooded would kill off these infecions.
I did see a video from snakebyes tv where they were having a "bite off" to see who could handle he most bites and were using the same snakes for both people,i emailed brian and asked the same question but couldnt answer it and just said that both employies were clean and they would no be doing "bite offs" again lol |
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Gingerpony
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2663 Posts |
Posted - 10/10/2009 : 08:52:27
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the cold-blooded issue might be the key........
we have a body temp of around 37*C and snakes have a body temp of up to around 32*C(and often lower)..... might be enough to kill anything nasty in their system if particular viruses/bacteria can't survive at that low a temp? |
Dumerils boas, BCO hybrids, Sinder Hypo boas, cornsnakes, ratsnakes, Day Geckos
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Tricky question
