In Martinique, Bothrops lanceolatus
snakebite, although relatively uncommon (~30 cases/year), may result in serious complications such as systemic
thrombosis and local
infections.
Infections have been hypothesized to be related to bacteria present in the snake's oral cavity. In this investigation, we isolated, identified, and studied the susceptibility to
beta-lactams of bacteria sampled from the oral cavity of twenty-six B. lanceolatus specimens collected from various areas in Martinique. Microbiota from B. lanceolatus oral cavity was polymicrobial. Isolated bacteria belonged to fifteen different taxa; the most frequent being Aeromonas hydrophyla (present in 50% of the samples), Morganella morganii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Bacillus spp., and Enterococcus spp. Analysis of
antibiotic susceptibility revealed that 66.7% of the isolated bacteria were resistant to
amoxicillin/
clavulanate. In contrast, the majority of isolated bacteria were susceptible to the
third-generation cephalosporins (i.e., 73.3% with
cefotaxime and 80.0% with
ceftazidime). Microbiota from B. lanceolatus oral cavity is polymicrobial with bacteria mostly susceptible to
third-generation cephalosporins but rarely to
amoxicillin/
clavulanate. In conclusion, our findings clearly support that first-line
antibiotic therapy in the B. lanceolatus-bitten patients, when there is evidence of
infection, should include a
third-generation cephalosporin rather than
amoxicillin/
clavulanate.