Adams, Douglas - Last Chance to See, ch. 2 (1990) [with Mark Carwardine] | WIST Quotations

"So what do we do if we get bitten by something deadly, then?" I asked. He blinked at me as if I were stupid. "Well what do you think you do?" he said. "You die of course. That's what deadly means." Talking to a herpetologist before traveling to Komodo, Indonesia.…

Development of a universal antivenom using proteomic characterisation of antigenic and immunogenic snake venom proteins

Karl P. Schmidt’s Detailed Account of His Fatal Boomslang Snake Bite

In 1957, Karl P. Schmidt, a prominent herpetologist, suffered a fatal bite from a juvenile boomslang snake while handling it at the Chicago Natural History Museum. Believing that a young, rear-fanged snake could not deliver a lethal dose, Schmidt declined medical treatment, choosing instead to meticulously document the progression of symptoms from the venom. Over the course of a day, he recorded nausea, chills, bleeding from gums, fever, and hematuria, continuing his normal routines despite deteriorating health. His journal notes his breakfast the following morning, where he understated ongoing bleeding as “not excessive,” the last word he ever wrote. Schmidt died later that afternoon, with an autopsy revealing extensive internal bleeding caused by disseminated intravascular coagulation, a condition triggered by boomslang venom. Although antivenom exists, it was unavailable in Chicago in the 1950s. Schmidt’s death drew attention to the dangers of rear-fanged colubrid snakes and led to further research on their venom. His final diary is regarded as a remarkable first-person scientific record, documenting a scientist’s observation of nature even as it claimed his life.

Karl P. Schmidt’s Detailed Account of His Fatal Boomslang Snake Bite

In 1957, Karl P. Schmidt, a prominent herpetologist, suffered a fatal bite from a juvenile boomslang snake while handling it at the Chicago Natural History Museum. Believing that a young, rear-fanged snake could not deliver a lethal dose, Schmidt declined medical treatment, choosing instead to meticulously document the progression of symptoms from the venom. Over the course of a day, he recorded nausea, chills, bleeding from gums, fever, and hematuria, continuing his normal routines despite deteriorating health. His journal notes his breakfast the following morning, where he understated ongoing bleeding as “not excessive,” the last word he ever wrote. Schmidt died later that afternoon, with an autopsy revealing extensive internal bleeding caused by disseminated intravascular coagulation, a condition triggered by boomslang venom. Although antivenom exists, it was unavailable in Chicago in the 1950s. Schmidt’s death drew attention to the dangers of rear-fanged colubrid snakes and led to further research on their venom. His final diary is regarded as a remarkable first-person scientific record, documenting a scientist’s observation of nature even as it claimed his life.