Snake, the minute someone thinks of a snake the same
reaction comes up for most, “gross slivering beings only wanting one thing to
kill.” And for snake owners this could be a truly aggravating thing, many of us
know that snakes can be so gentle, never hurting us trying to do the same thing
that we do and that is live. This idea brought me to the article I chose to
write about it was introducing ideas for diverse microbial ecosystems (some
good, and some bad) being transported in trade. Millions of people even now are buying and
selling snakes, little do they know they carry such things as Aeromonas hydrophila, Citrobacter freundii and , Corynebacterium jeikeium, some is not
all of these are potentially harmful to humans, all in the mouths of snakes.
The article which I agree with introducing ideas backed with
studies done to increase security also awareness for people transporting
snakes. The true question which intrigues me is the bacteria present in snakes
not showing symptoms. The article explained a trade between a US zoo and a Korean
one, the snakes tested positive with potentially harmful pathogens, but no
symptoms were displayed in the snakes. If we could harness their abilities to
be carriers and not victims we could change the lives of many human victims.
Even now we harness their micro bio-me, using their bile and liquids to medicate
us. Anti-venoms are taken from snakes to save people who have been bitten and
would otherwise die. The possibilities are endless, these creatures who have
lasted millions of years could answer some of our greatest questions in
medicine.
Article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3188728/#!po=10.0000
Picture 1: Taken by me
Picture 2: http://pixdaus.com/files/items/pics/9/74/301974_77409d92a57ec326d252e7834ff693a2_large.jpg
Scotty, I found it very interesting that snakes could help scientists will medical research. I am not a fan of snakes but I do know that all they want to do is survive. My feelings towards snakes have always been, “If I leave you alone, you will leave me alone.” Now, after reading your blog I understand that they can actually benefit us in the medical world. It is also amazing that snakes can live symbiotically with pathogens. As humans we are discovering that our human bodies are full of microbes; some pathogens but most are beneficial microbes. Snakes are able to live with pathogens in their mouths without a worry. I believe that we will find medical uses for snakes and their microbiomes. I will come to respect them just as I have come to respect my own microbes. Little creatures like snakes and microbes do a lot in the world, we just need to open our eyes to see what we can learn from them.
ReplyDeleteOooh snakes are my favorite! I'm really glad you wrote this blog because I've been wanting to find out more about what lives on snakes. Being a snake owner, it's a little hard for me to understand why some people dislike or are afraid of snakes -They aren't slimy, gross, just super cute. Okay, back to microbes. It's really cool that these can live on them and not affect them. It makes me wonder why this is. As for carrying potentially deadly pathogens, well that won't help their reputation. However, I can see how it may help in the medical world. If their "immunity" or can be discovered and applied to these pathogens in people, then it would save lives. Could this be in other reptiles as well? Does it matter if the snake is deadly or not?
ReplyDeleteHi, I am a PhD student in Dr. Northup's lab. In the lab that I teach here at UNM the students in my lab swab the skin on their arms and plate the sample on media that is specific to Staph. growth. Some students will grow Staph. aureus. This is not a cause for concern though because humans often harbor many types of potential pathogens in their gut and also on the skin. Though some of these microbes may act as opportunistic pathogens in an individual that was immunocompromised, it is usually no cause for concern.
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