(MIAMI, October 4, 2013) –Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department’s (MDFR) Venom Response Team saved the life of an Everglades National Park Ranger on Saturday, September 28, 2013.  Park Ranger Anthony Terry was bitten by an Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake on his left hand while attempting to remove it from his home located in Everglades National Park.

Lt Scott Mullin of MDFR’s Venom Response Team received the call and immediately coordinated Park Ranger Terry’s transport via MDFR Air Rescue. He traveled with them and the antivenin to Everglades National Park and on to Baptist Homestead Hospital where he oversaw the administration of the first dose of antivenin within one hour of the initial 9-1-1 call.  In total, 28 vials of antivenin were used to reverse the effects of the toxin.

The Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake has the reputation of being the most dangerous venomous snake in North America. A dose of 100 mgs of its venom is lethal to humans within two hours. A single bite can inject up to 800 mgs of venom which causes tissue death and disables the body’s ability to clot causing the person to bleed to death. Park Ranger Terry was treated in the ICU at Homestead Baptist Hospital and is expected make a full recovery.