Forensic identification of a fatal snakebite from Bungarus multicinctus (Chinese krait) by pathological and toxicological findings: a case report.

Yu Tian, Zihao Liu, Longda Ma, Yanhe Yu, Qing Shi, Shuquan Zhao, Yiwu Zhou

Forensic science, medicine, and pathology 2022 Dec

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Bungarus multicinctus (B. multicinctus) is one of the top ten venomous snakes in China, ranking first in lethality at 26.9-33.3%. However, to our knowledge, no forensic autopsy-related cases of death from B. multicinctus bite poisoning have been reported. There are surprisingly few reported cases of death from poisoning by other species of neurotoxic snakes. Neurotoxic snake venom is often highly toxic, and death can quickly occur when bitten in the wild if victims are not taken to a doctor in time. We presented a case of an adult female in Fujian Province of China who was bitten by a poisonous snake while digging for bamboo shoots in the mountains and died from the bite of B. multicinctus confirmed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) results. The autopsy's results, histopathological findings, and ELISA results reported here can be helpful for future forensic practice in B. multicinctus venom poisoning; we also briefly review the pathological changes of neurotoxin poisoning, which may be useful in other types of neurotoxin snake venom poisoning. © 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.

Citation

Yu Tian, Zihao Liu, Longda Ma, Yanhe Yu, Qing Shi, Shuquan Zhao, Yiwu Zhou. Forensic identification of a fatal snakebite from Bungarus multicinctus (Chinese krait) by pathological and toxicological findings: a case report. Forensic science, medicine, and pathology. 2022 Dec;18(4):497-502