Venomous Snake Bites on the Rise in Kids

Between 2000 and 2013, there were more than 18,000 reports of snakebites in children in the U.S., the researchers wrote in their study, which was published Oct. 20 in the journal Pediatrics. About half the snakebites that were reported were from venomous snakes, according to the study. Bites from cottonmouths (Agkistrodon piscivorus) accounted for 6 percent of bites, while 3 percent came from coral snakes and 1 percent came from exotic venomous snakes, the researchers found.