Am J Gastroenterol. 1989 Apr; 84(4): 433-5.

Disseminated Salmonella arizona infection associated with rattlesnake meat ingestion.

Bhatt BD, Zuckerman MJ, Foland JA, Polly SM, Marwah RK.

Department of Medicine, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, El Paso.

Salmonella arizona is an uncommon enteric pathogen. We report a case of a woman with systemic lupus erythematosus, receiving prednisone therapy, who developed fatal disseminated S. arizona infection after ingesting raw dried rattlesnake meat as a form of treatment for her illness. S. arizona was isolated from stool, blood, peritoneal fluid, and cerebrospinal fluid. The importance of being aware of the Mexican-American folk remedy involving the ingestion of rattlesnake meat in the forms of dried snake, snake powder, or snake powder capsules, and the risk of acquiring S. arizona enteric infections is discussed.