KOB-TV (Albuquerque, New Mexico) 19 September 07 N.M. poison Center participating in national program
Albuquerque (AP): New Mexico's poison control center is part of a national effort to create an antivenom system to deal with bites from venomous snakes that are not native to the United States.
About 50 bites from exotic snake species are reported each year in the U.S.
That's according to the medical director of the New Mexico Poison and Drug Information Center in Albuquerque, Doctor Steven Seifert.
Seifert says the fatality rate for bites from nonnative snakes is significantly higher than for native species.
The center has received a three-year, $375,000 grant for the project in collaboration with other centers, zoos and snakebite experts.
N.M. poison Center participating in national program