Rattlesnakes are a fact of life on Georgian Bay in the Great Lakes. I came within two feet of stepping on a massasauga rattler last Thursday on Beausoleil I. in Georgian Bay Islands Natl Park while walking on a park trail after anchoring in Chimney Bay. Now comes news that the province is completely out of snake anti-venom. It's even news in Vancouver. Metro - Anti-venom crisis in Ontario
The story explains the crisis and the health-care politics behind it. Bottom line is that there's enough venom in a massasauga to kill a small child, and kids are often the ones to get bitten. (if your dog gets bitten, forget about antivenom treatment. It costs tens of thousands of dollars per treatment.) As for the rest of us, the pain is powerful enough to defeat morphine. The female massasaugas are pregnant and moving around a lot more right now. If you're going ashore, mind where you're stepping.
The story explains the crisis and the health-care politics behind it. Bottom line is that there's enough venom in a massasauga to kill a small child, and kids are often the ones to get bitten. (if your dog gets bitten, forget about antivenom treatment. It costs tens of thousands of dollars per treatment.) As for the rest of us, the pain is powerful enough to defeat morphine. The female massasaugas are pregnant and moving around a lot more right now. If you're going ashore, mind where you're stepping.
