My son was bitten by a copperhead snake (a viper) near Washington DC. He received a very large dose of poison into a very small hand, and ran a high risk of losing his arm without proper treatment. He received 14 doses of anti-venom, $70,000 worth, and recovered fully. Two years later, we found out that the company that made the anti-venom for copperheads had ceased production, since it wasn't cost-effective. My wife blogged about it: http://www.crazyus.com/2010/07/19/washington-dc-snakes-once-...