PETERBOROUGH – The founder of a reptile zoo just east of Peterborough says he provided antivenin to a woman who was bitten by a snake while on a trip in Thailand.
Bry Loyst of Indian River Reptile Zoo says he was contacted by provincial police and hospital staff in Kitchener on Friday to provide the antidote to the woman.
He says he was told by the hospital that she had been bitten by a Malayan pit viper, a venomous snake common in Thailand, about a week ago.
He says staff told him the woman received antivenin at a hospital in Thailand, but the symptoms returned when she came back to Canada.
He says officers picked up six vials of antivenin and rushed them to hospital where the woman was in serious condition.
Loyst says this isn’t the first time his zoo has been contacted for antivenin – he’s provided it about seven times over the past decade for victims of snake bites.