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In this edition , Mrinal Patnaik , MBBS , explains his fascination with snakes and how venomous reptiles have contributed to hematology . Dr . Patnaik is associate professor of internal medicine and oncology and a consultant in the Division of Hematology at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester , Minnesota .
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When Life Gives You Venoms …
Mrinal Patnaik , MBBS
How did you become interested in snakes ? I did my medical training in India , which is home to a number of venomous snakes . After medical school , I completed a year of medical service in a rural area about 200 kilometers from Mumbai on the west coast of India , where dangerous snakes are common . It ’ s estimated that 80,000 people die annually in India from venomous snake bites – and that is probably an underestimation .
Before I went into rural service , I had no idea how difficult it would be to manage snake bites . In that one year , I encountered several different snake envenomation syndromes ( vasculotoxic and neurotoxic ) and became fascinated by how these venoms were designed to wreak havoc in the body .
The “ big four ” venomous snake species responsible for most snake-bite cases in India are the Indian cobra , the Russell ’ s viper , the saw-scaled viper , and the banded krait . These snakes live in rural areas like those I was working in , so snake-bite victims are usually farmers plowing the fields or children on their way to school accidentally coming across snake burrows .
The cities in India have good infrastructure , but the rural areas have almost nothing . We were equipped with only intravenous fluids and anti-snake venom . When
86 ASH Clinical News November 2017