ANTIVENON SHORTAGE PROMPTS CONCERN AS SNAKES EMERGE.

Byline: Patricia Farrell Aidem Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - A dry winter and warm April weather have brought out rattlesnakes earlier than usual this year.

The venomous snakes are slithering out of parched wild lands into back yards and along hiking trails. They have sunk their fangs into three people in Santa Clarita in recent weeks, a tally normally expected in the middle of summer.

``I killed one at my neighbor's house the other day,'' said Maxine New, a Sand Canyon resident. ``And there was one crossing the road, it was as thick as a pork loin, about 5 feet long. It made me shudder.

``They started early this year, it's going to be a problem.''

This rattlesnake season is prompting some concern in the Western states - rattler country - because of a shortage of antivenin, the serum used to treat the poisonous bites.

When a toddler was bitten last week in New's rustic canyon neighborhood, he was taken by helicopter to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, which had no antivenin and had to order it from another hospital. The little boy, Jacob Barron, was treated and released the next day in good condition.

Borrowing from other hospitals isn't unusual, said Mark Wallerstein, emergency room director for Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia. Newhall Memorial has a limited supply of antivenin on hand, and would obtain it from another medical center if needed, he said.

``We have a plan in place,'' Wallerstein said. ``If Holy Cross has a bite victim and needs antivenin, we would be willing to give them what we have. If (Antelope Valley Hospital) has it and we need it, they send it. It works out.

``We seem to get far more than our share of snakebites here and we won't divert a patient. We'll get the serum.''

The most common drug used to treat rattlesnake bites is made by repeatedly injecting horses with rattlesnake venom, gradually building up their immunity, then extracting a serum. A synthetic drug also is being used.

Dr. Mark Sarti, who runs the emergency room at Providence Holy Cross Medical Center in Mission Hills, said rattlesnake bites often don't require antivenin treatment.

That's because snakes value their venom and won't waste it on something they can't paralyze and eat, because it takes a few hours to build up a toxic dose of venom. Deaths from rattlesnake bites are extremely rare.

``If they've just bitten something else, there might not be any venom when they bite a human,'' Sarti said.

Doctors, he said, watch symptoms on bite victims to determine if antivenin serum is needed. Like Newhall Memorial, Holy Cross saw two snakebite victims - an adult and a child - last month.

``If a bite victim is (injected with venom), there's usually numbness, tingling, sometimes they have a metallic taste in their mouth,'' Sarti said.

Most bites are on the hands or ankles, Wallerstein said. Victims, he added, should avoid movement that taxes their circulation and get to a hospital, ideally by calling 911.