page_title: List of dangerous snakes
section_title: Saw-scaled viper
hierarchical_section_title: List of dangerous snakes / Highly dangerous / The Big Four / Saw-scaled viper
caption_attribution_description: English: Saw-scaled Viper (Echis carinatus) in Mangaon, Raigad, Maharashtra, India
context_page_description: Of the 3,500 snake species, there are around 600 venomous snake species in the world. This is an overview of the snakes that pose a significant health risk to humans, through snakebites or other physical trauma.
  The varieties of snakes that most often cause serious snakebites depend on the region of the world. In Africa, the most dangerous species include black mambas, puff adders, and carpet vipers. In the Middle East the species of greatest concern are carpet vipers and elapids; in Central and South America, Bothrops and Crotalus are of greatest concern. In South Asia, it has historically been believed that Indian cobras, common kraits, Russell's viper and carpet vipers were the most dangerous species; however other snakes may also cause significant problems in this area of the world. While several species of snakes may cause more bodily destruction than others, any of these venomous snakes are still very capable of causing human fatalities should a bite go untreated, regardless of their venom capabilities or behavioral tendencies.
context_section_description: The Saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus) is small, but its unpredictability, aggressive temper, and lethal venom potency make it very dangerous. This species is one of the fastest striking snakes in the world, and mortality rates for those bitten are very high. In India alone, the saw-scaled viper is responsible for an estimated 5,000 human fatalities annually. However, because it ranges from Pakistan, India (in rocky regions of Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab), Sri Lanka, parts of the Middle East and Africa north of the equator, is believed to cause more human fatalities every year than any other snake species. In drier regions of the African continent, such as the Sahel and savannas, the saw-scaled vipers inflict up to 90% of all bites. The rate of envenomation is over 80%. The saw-scaled viper also produces a particularly painful bite. This species produces on the average of about 18 mg of dry venom by weight, with a recorded maximum of 72 mg. It may inject as much as 12 mg, whereas the lethal dose for an adult human is estimated to be only 5 mg.
  Envenomation results in local symptoms as well as severe systemic symptoms that may prove fatal. Local symptoms include swelling and intense pain, which appear within minutes of a bite. In very bad cases the swelling may extend up the entire affected limb within 12–24 hours and blisters form on the skin. Of the more dangerous systemic symptoms, hemorrhage and coagulation defects are the most striking. Hematemesis, melena, hemoptysis, hematuria and epistaxis also occur and may lead to hypovolemic shock. Almost all patients develop oliguria or anuria within a few hours to as late as 6 days post bite. In some cases, kidney dialysis is necessary due to acute kidney injury, but this is not often caused by hypotension. It is more often the result of intravascular hemolysis, which occurs in about half of all cases. In other cases, ARF is often caused by disseminated intravascular coagulation.
caption: Saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus)
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