RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — State police helped rush an anti-venom treatment to a Virginia hospital after a man was bitten by his pet African Pit Viper, authorities said Sunday.
Police helped deliver the anti-venom treatment from the Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center in Virginia Beach to Richmond’s VCU Health, officials said.
The name of the man and the location where he was bitten were not immediately disclosed. Officials said he was bitten overnight and already had received an initial dose of anti-venom treatment from the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.
Mackenzie Di Nardo, a spokeswoman for the aquarium in Virginia Beach, said it had provided 35 doses of anti-venom for emergency transport by state police to VCU Medical Center after getting a call from the Virginia Poison Center.
A spokeswoman for VCU declined to comment.
The man who was bitten was reportedly still alive Sunday evening, but a state police spokeswoman had no details on his status.
The African Pit Viper, also known as the Gaboon Viper, is one of the most venomous snakes in the world.