A new study has revealed that three deadly snake species are even more dangerous than we previously thought.
Mambas – native to sub-Saharan Africa – are some of the world’s deadliest snakes. For a long time, we have known that mamba venom attacks the nervous system by stopping nerve signals. This causes ‘flaccid paralysis’, where the victim loses the ability to move their muscles. If untreated, this is often fatal.
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Luckily, antivenom treats flaccid paralysis. But some patients who have been effectively treated with antivenom go on to develop a new problem: painful and violent spasms. Doctors have long been scratching their heads over why some patients develop these symptoms, which are the very opposite of the flaccid paralysis caused by the mamba bite.
Researchers at the University of Queensland found the answer: they discovered that mamba venom has been hiding a deadly secret – a secret that only comes to light once antivenom has been administered.
A coordinated attack
In their new study, published in Toxins, the researchers show that the venom of three species of mamba – the black mamba, western green mamba and Jameson’s mamba – launches a coordinated attack on not one but two parts of the nervous system.
In one method of attack, the venom causes flaccid paralysis by stopping nerve signals reaching muscles, but in the other method it causes nerve signals to overload muscles, leading to spasms. Without antivenom, this second method is masked by the first – hence why this effect of mamba venom has been missed by previous research.
To add to the complexity of mamba venom, the researchers also found that how well antivenom works depends on where the snake is from. For example, South African black mamba venom is not as well neutralised by antivenom as Kenyan black mamba venom.
The discovery that mamba venom coordinates a two-pronged attack on the nervous system, and the discovery that mamba venom varies by region, is good news for those who live alongside mambas. With this new knowledge, specialised antivenom can be developed. Hopefully, this will lead to more effective treatment for future mamba-bite victims.
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