Venomous Bites and Stings in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia is inhabited by at least ten species of terrestrial venomous snakes of potential medical importance. In the Arabian Gulf but not in the Red Sea there are the same number of species of venomous sea snakes. The Arabian cobra (Naja haje arabica) can cause neurotoxic envenoming culminating in fatal bulbar and respiratory paralysis. Of the six species of viper, the puff adder (Bitis arietans) can cause severe local envenoming (swelling, blistering, necrosis), shock and haemorrhage; saw-scaled vipers Echis carinatus sochureki, E. pyramidum and E. coloratus cause severe haemostatic disturbances with moderate local envenoming; the horned viper Cerastes cerastes usually causes only local envenoming and bites by Pseudocerastes persicus have not been reported