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AWDAL NEWS (Hargeisa, Somalia) 08 September 05 Meat from snakebitten camel poisons 64 in Somaliland
Hargeisa (Reuters): Sixty-four people have been hospitalised in Somaliland after eating the meat of a camel which died of a snakebite, authorities said on Thursday.
Mohamed Muse Abdulle, deputy governor of Sahil region in the breakaway northern enclave of Somalia, said a man sold the poisoned meat in the village of Hudiso, 57 km (35 miles) south of the port of Berbera.
"The owner of the camel, who is now in police custody, is believed to have cut the meat from a camel which died from a snakebite," Abdulle told Reuters.
The 64 victims had been travelling by bus and had stopped to eat at a restaurant in Hudiso on Wednesday, Abdulle said. They were still recovering at a Hudiso clinic on Thursday, he said.
Police said they would not identify the meat-seller in case of reprisals from victims.
Meat from snakebitten camel poisons 64 in Somaliland

Somehow, that story seems a bit far fetched....as venom is mostly made up of proteins. If the meat was cooked those proteins would have broken down quite a bit...not to mention that all 64 people would have had to have some kind of wound/scrape/abscess/ulcer/etc for the venom to enter into the bloodstream, otherwise stomach acids would simply digest it... Or am I completely wrong on this one? From everything I've read you can drink pure venom without any effect unless you've got some kind of sore or tear somewhere... Why would eating camel meat tainted with venom proteins make 64 people ill? Am I just way off base here? Just a thought and maybe someone can answer that one for me...
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
5.11.Leopard geckos (1.2 Blizzards (Caine, Phoenix, and Mirage), 0.2 Tangerine Albinos (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short, and Casper), 1.0 Tremper Albino (Mycah), 0.3 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, and Aris), 1.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas), 1.0 Full Stripe Chocolate Tremper Albino (Discord), 0.1 pastel (Raven) and 1.2 Normals)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros) (R.I.P. November 18, 2005)
13 rats (plus pups)
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Ashe and Hercules)

No, you're right. It may have been the camel meat, but cobra venom had no role in the affair. Magical thinking...

It's just rural myths...the meat was probably rotten, had some kind of bacteria, or something along those lines. It's amazing that the newspapers there report such things without even making an effort to factcheck with someone who is an expert on snakes, but then again, many newspapers HERE don't factcheck, so why should they there?

Thats what I thought.... the story just struck me as totally inane is all... so I wanted to verify my own questioning of it... *L* The media are definately screw up kind of people around the world, regardless of country..
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
5.11.Leopard geckos (1.2 Blizzards (Caine, Phoenix, and Mirage), 0.2 Tangerine Albinos (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short, and Casper), 1.0 Tremper Albino (Mycah), 0.3 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, and Aris), 1.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas), 1.0 Full Stripe Chocolate Tremper Albino (Discord), 0.1 pastel (Raven) and 1.2 Normals)
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros) (R.I.P. November 18, 2005)
13 rats (plus pups)
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
2 cats (Ashe and Hercules)

It's bad enough to ride a camel...eating one...

No, you can't get hurt from eating a camel that's been bit. Unless it falls on you.
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1.1 Woma (Juvie female)
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1.1 Timors
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