A woman in Foshan’s Shunde District is lucky to be alive after she was bitten by a severed cobra head last week, according to a post by the Shunde Police.
The woman, identified in reports as Huang, owns a restaurant with her husband, Wei Mou, that specializes in snake dishes – including ones that incorporate cobra meat.
Huang was cleaning kitchen waste when the venomous bite was inflicted by the severed head of a cobra, which was killed earlier by her husband to prepare a meal.
Yang Hongchang, a snake expert who has spent decades researching cobras, spoke to the Daily Mail following a similar incident in Foshan in August of 2014 (which resulted in the death of a snake chef), stating: “By the time a snake has lost its head, it's effectively dead as basic body functions have ceased, but there is still some reflexive action.
“It means snakes have the capability of biting and injecting venom even after the head has been severed.”
University of Arkansas biology professor Steven Beaupré told LiveScience in 2014 that "just because the animal [a cobra] has been decapitated, that doesn't mean the nerves have stopped functioning."
After being bitten, Huang’s fingers began to go numb and she began experiencing nausea and dizziness. Her husband immediately drove her to the hospital.
Huang received prompt treatment for the bite and will make a full recovery, although doctors said that if she'd shown up just five minutes later, the outcome may have been grim.
Curious what to do in the event of a venomous snake bike? We have a guide for that!
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[Image via Shunde Police]
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