The victim, an adult man, was bitten near the CSU Channel Islands campus in Camarillo, Ventura County Fire says
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NEED TO KNOW
- A sixth person was bitten by a rattlesnake in less than a month in Ventura County, Calif. on April 5
- The victim, identified as an adult male, survived the bite and was treated at a nearby hospital
- Two of the recent victims, Gabriela Bautista and Julian Hernandez, died from the venom of their bites
A sixth person has been bitten by a rattlesnake in Ventura County, Calif. in less than a month.
An adult male victim was bit near the California State University Channel Islands campus in Camarillo, Calif. on Sunday, April 5 around 4 p.m. local time, KTLA reports. His identity has not been publicly released, and he was off-campus but in the area at the time of the incident, per the outlet, citing the Ventura County Fire Department (VCFD).
The victim was transported to a local hospital by a "third party," and called emergency services while en route, VCFD spokesperson Andrew Dowd told KTLA. He was picked up on Pleasant Valley Road and Lewis Road and brought into the hospital in "stable" condition, Dowd told the outlet.
The VCFD spokesperson noted to KTLA that not all hospitals carry rattlesnake anti venom.
PEOPLE has reached out to VCFD for comment.
The incident marks the sixth in less than a month in the area. On March 14, Gabriela Bautista died at 46 after being bitten by a rattlesnake while hiking at Wildwood Regional Park, per KTLA. She was a resident of Moorpark, Calif.
On March 20, a teen girl was bitten by a rattlesnake near the Wendy Drive trailhead in Thousand Oaks around 7:30 p.m local time, KTLA reported at the time.
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Emergency personnel were called and, after firefighters hiked their way up the trail, they were able to rescue her girl, according to The Los Angeles Times. She was then transported to a local hospital with minor injuries, a spokesperson for the fire department told the newspaper.
A few weeks earlier, Julian Hernandez, of Costa Mesa, Calif., was mountain biking at Quail Hill Trailhead on Feb. 1 around 11 a.m. local time when he was bitten, according to KTLA.
NBC affiliate KNBC-TV said Hernandez —who was an Eagle Scout — tried to bike to safety after being bitten but eventually was overcome with the venom’s effects.
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Officials responded to the scene and Hernandez was transported to a hospital where he fell into a coma and was placed in the ICU. He died on March 4.
"Each year, 7,000–8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the United States," the CDC says. "About 5 of those people die."
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