Snakebite test correctly IDs attackers in Nepal
DNA from swab of bite site can diagnose serpentine culprit
By Nathan Seppa
NEW ORLEANS — Swabbing for traces of snake DNA around bite marks on people can reveal the guilty serpent, a use of forensics that could change how people in regions beset by snakebites identify the culprits, a study in Nepal finds.
Snake identification can be lifesaving if it guides use of antivenom accurately, said François Chappuis, a tropical medicine doctor at Geneva University Hospital, who reported the findings November 4 at a meeting of the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. But the current snake identification method in South Asia relies on patients’ recall or symptoms, he says.