Mali Spitting Cobra

DESCRIPTION:

The Mali Spitting Cobra is a small spitting cobra with adults averaging 50 to 80 cm. The body shape is that of a typical snake with the head being slightly distinct from the neck. In color this snake is brown or reddish-brown and similar to the red spitting cobra. The Mali Spitting Cobra is also called the Kati Spitting Cobra or Brown Spitting Cobra. There is a usually a broad dark band on the throat – which may be bold or feint in older specimens.

HABITS & HABITAT:

The Mali Spitting Cobra is found in savanna, open forest, and shrub-lands ranging from semi-moist to semi-arid regions. This snake is active both day and night. If threatened it will spread a narrow hood and spit at it’s attacker. The snake will bite if grabbed or stood on.

DISTRIBUTION:

Burkina Faso; Cameroon; Côte d’Ivoire; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Mali; Niger; Nigeria; Senegal; Togo. Although no records exist but this species may also occur in Chad and the Central African Republic.

VENOM:

The venom of the Mali Spitting Cobra is predominantly and potently cytotoxic; Treatment for the necrosis is often prolonged, complicated and very expensive; A bite is a medical emergency; it must be treated in a well-equipped hospital, and vigorous action to reduce the amount of tissue damage, involving early antivenom administration; Venom in the eye is also a frequent result of an encounter with this snake, causing agonising pain, and, if untreated, corneal lesions and complications.

SYMPTOMS:

Agonising pain & swelling (which may involved the entire limb and spread to the trunk); Local swelling and discolouration are often the earliest signs of envenoming; blistering and serious local long-term tissue damage; Blisters are formed around the darkened necrotic area approximately 72 hours after the bite; There may be “skipping lesions”, areas of necrosis separated by strips of apparently normal skin caused by proximal spread of venom in lymphatic vessels; Patients may become drowsy due to hypovolaemic shock but swelling may be aggravated by a venous tourniquet or traditional remedies; Deaths are rare.

FIRST-AID:

Remember to remain calm; Gently wash the bite site with water, nothing else; Remove rings, jewellery and other restrictive clothing or shoes; Draw a circle around the bite site; Write the time the bite occurred next to the bite site; Keep the affected limb elevated above the height of the head; Painkillers (NOT NSAIDS); Keep the bite site sterile and covered.

VENOM OPHTHALMIA:

The affected eye must be gently irrigated with large quantities of water; Protect the eyes from sun for 3 days; Anyone who has been spat at should visit a hospital or eye clinic for an assessment of the damage to the eye.

ANTIVENOM:

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