Expert: Rattlesnake species more deadly

SAN DIEGO, April 20 (UPI) -- A rattlesnake species in the Southwest is becoming more aggressive and becoming even more lethal, U.S. experts say.

Doctors and toxicologists say they have anecdotal evidence of an increase in snakebite cases, with more patients dying as a result of their bites, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday.

San Diego Poison Control officials said the recorded number of "unusually powerful" snakebites had increased for the second consecutive year. An article in the current issue of Scientific American suggests the venom of the southern Pacific rattlesnake is becoming "extratoxic."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says there are roughly 7,000 reported venomous snakebites each year in the United States, 15 of which on average prove fatal.

Dr. Richard Clark, a toxicologist at the University of California San Diego and medical director of the university's poison control said the number of snakebites varies with environmental conditions. He noted that wildfires can affect rattlesnake habitat, reproduction rates and their ability to find food.

He predicted that in San Diego County, the annual number of rattlesnake bites will trend upward "as we continue to build and expand into East County and snake habitat."