According to zoo officials, a poisonous snake bit an employee at the San Diego Zoo on Monday.
A zoo spokesman said the game care specialist was immediately transported to a hospital for evaluation and medical care. The incident occurred while the employee was caring for the reptile in a non-public area.
“Although the San Diego Zoo cares for a number of poisonous reptiles, incidents like these are very rare, and the snake is covered at all times with no risk of escaping,” the zoo said in a statement to the United States today. said.
The snake in question is an African viper, also known as Atheris squamigera. Native to parts of West and Central Africa, their venom can cause fever, bleeding and possibly death in humans, according to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Zoology website.
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According to the Seneca Park Zoo in Rochester, New York, no venom against an African viper’s venom is known.
However, patients can be treated for their bite using poisons created for other snakes’ venom. This was the case in January 2015 when the Dallas Zoo assisted in treating a local man who was bitten by an African viper he kept at his home, although possession of one of these snakes is illegal in Dallas and Fort Worth.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Snake bites zoo worker in San Diego