Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, August 21, 1993 TAG: 9308210187
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HAYMARKET LENGTH: Medium
Prince William Deputy Animal Warden Pauline Shatswell said it's against county law to keep a wild or exotic animal. Violation of the ordinance is a misdemeanor, punishable by a $500 fine.
Yeager, 34, of Haymarket, called the county's emergency 911 line about 12:30 a.m. Thursday and told dispatchers he had been bitten on the hand by a cobra he was keeping as a pet.
The snake, whose natural home is tropical rain forests in most of west and central Africa, injects a venom that paralyzes vital organs, including the lungs. The venom can kill within eight hours. Within an hour of Yeager's call for help, he was drooling, slightly delirious and couldn't swallow, talk or breathe on his own.
Doctors knew the two vials of anti-venom serum Yeager had with him at the time of the bite were insufficient. Prince William Hospital had none of the serum, so it contacted a local snake expert who brought in six vials of the lifesaving liquid, spokesman Robert Sturm said.
A team of several nurses began calling hospitals in several other states to find more. They found 10 vials at the National Zoo in Washington at 1:30 a.m.
The hunt continued. Nurses contacted the national Centers for Disease Control and learned that the nearest supply was at the Pittsburgh zoo. They called there at 6 a.m.
At 7 a.m., a plane arrived at the Manassas airport from Pittsburgh with 20 vials, Sturm said.
In the end, it took 35 vials to get Yeager out of danger. By Thursday afternoon, Yeager was conscious and breathing on his own.
by CNB