Injuries and envenomation by exotic pets in Hong Kong

Exotic pets are increasingly popular in Hong Kong and include fish, amphibians, reptiles, and arthropods. Some of these exotic animals are venomous and may cause injuries to and envenomation of their owners. The clinical experience of emergency physicians in the management of injuries and envenomation by these exotic animals is limited. We reviewed the clinical features and outcomes of injuries and envenomation by exotic pets recorded by the Hong Kong Poison Information Centre.

We retrospectively retrieved and reviewed cases of injuries and envenomation by exotic pets recorded by the Hong Kong Poison Information Centre from 1 July 2008 to 31 March 2017.

There were 15 reported cases of injuries and envenomation by exotic pets during the study period, including snakebite (n=6), fish sting (n=4), scorpion sting (n=2), lizard bite (n=2), and turtle bite (n=1). There were two cases of major effects from the envenomation, seven cases with moderate effects, and six cases with mild effects. All major effects were related to venomous snakebites. There were no mortalities.

All human injuries from exotic pets arose from reptiles, scorpions, and fish. All cases of major envenomation were inflicted by snakes.