Incidence of Treated Snakebites in the United States

The incidence of treated poisonous snakebites in the United States (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) was destermined by using hospital records, physician reports, and death certificates. An estimated 6,680 persons were treated for poisonous snakebites during 1959, an incidence of 3.74 bites per 100,000 population. The case-fatality rate was 0.21 percent. Males had higher bite rates than females, and nonwhites had higher rates than whites. Fifty-two percent of the bites happened to persons less than 20 years of age. Regions having the highest bite rates per 100,000 population were the West South Central, South Atlantic, and East South Central. July and August were the peak months for snakebite accidents. Most of the bites were inflicted on the victims' extremities--38 percent on the upper extremities and 58 percent on the lower.