A British tourist was rushed to intensive care after being bitten by blunt nosed viper in Cyprus, it has emerged.
Sam West, 40, from western England, was bitten by the snake April 3 as she was preparing to start a meditation session at rural hotel near Paphos.
‘It quickly, before I had time to react, bit me just above my left ankle. I started to shake the snake off as I shouted that I had just been bitten by a snake,’ she said.
West, who is on holiday in Cyprus, had to spent four days in intensive care before being discharged to the hotel with medication.
There are nine species of snake in on the island. While most are not dangerous, three are venomous, although one doesn’t cause a poisonous bite to humans, due to the position of its fangs.
However, the Macrovipera lebetinus, known as the blunt-nosed viper, is venomous.
