Derek,



This is just the usual phenomenon of the media getting everything muddled.



First, what how the hell can a finger show advanced signs of neurotoxic poisoning? Did the finger have a hard time keeping its eyes open? Was it drooling? Couldn't it breathe?



In other words, do they mean that there was *necrotic* poisoning of the finger? Or that the child was suffering from neurotoxicity? One article talks of needing intubation and ventilation, the other of amputations - all a complete muddle.



Assuming that there is local tissue damage, and from the general circumstances of the bite, this sounds much more like a cobra bite than a mamba bite in any case. Spitting cobras in particular often enter houses, and a considerable percentage of their bites happen in the circumstances described here (at night, in someone's bed). AFAIK, mamba bites do not normally occur in these circumstances. In any case, the local mamba of Mpumalanga Province is the black mamba, and if that had been the culprit, then (i) there would be no major tissue damage, and (ii) the child would almost certainly be dead.



Cheers,



Wolfgang

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