Most snake bites caused by stupidity

MIAMI, June 7 (UPI) -- Snake bite victims in the United States tend to be young men who have had too much to drink, an expert says.

Dr. Jeffrey Bernstein of the Florida Poison Information Center at the University of Miami told The Washington Post most bites by venomous snakes occur because of human stupidity. Most people are bitten when trying to pick up or kill snakes.

"The majority of patients are male. The majority are intoxicated," Bernstein said. "And two-thirds of bites we see in this country are upper extremity, so someone picked the snake up. The majority of bites in other countries are lower extremity."

Snake bites in the United States are rarely fatal with only eight to 10 in a year. Bernstein said that most fatal bites occur when the victim has an allergic reaction to the venom and goes into anaphylactic shock or when the snake manages to inject venom directly into a vein or artery.

While more people die from bee stings every year, there is some risk of venomous snake bite in most of the country. Only three states have no venomous snakes -- Maine, Alaska and Hawaii.