Costa Rican Surge In Snakebites Linked To El Niño Cycles

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Terciopelo, an aggressive snake species responsible for most snakebite envenomations in the neotropics. Davinia Beneyto

El Niño is a climate phenomenon that warms up the Pacific Ocean around the equator. In the western U.S., that typically means torrential downpour; in Australia, that might mean bush fires. For the tropics, it’s associated with cycles of diseases – and now snakebites too. According to new work published in Science Advances, viper envenomation is far more prevalent in Costa Rica during both the hottest and coldest El Niño years.