Hospitals warned city residents to watch out for snakes this summer because the hot weather sees an increase in snake bites.

Longhua Hospital, which has a Chinese herb therapy department to treat snake-bite injuries, said it had treated more than 20 snake-bite victims since summer began last month.

It said most of the bites were non-venomous.

Changhai Hospital said it had also received several cases. "Judging from past experience, summer is the peak period of the year for snake bites with our hospital," said a female doctor with Longhua's Chinese herb therapy department.

"Snakes are more active in summer than in other seasons. Also, people wear less clothes, which makes them more vulnerable to snake bites."

The doctor said most dangerous snakes did not venture into towns or places where humans lived.

She said the most common poisonous snakes found in Shanghai were from the ussuriensis family, which includes species of vipers. The doctor said bites from these snakes were not fatal if proper medical attention was sought immediately.

On Wednesday, a snake more than 1 meter long took part in one-hour standoff with police after it bit a woman on Hongzhen Old Street, the doctor said.

The snake bit the woman when she stepped on it to stop it entering her house on the street.

A police officer was eventually able to kill the snake by beating it with a stick and the woman and the dead snake were sent to Longhua Hospital. The snake turned out to be harmless and the woman was released after doctors cleaned the wound.

On July 4, a security guard wasn't so lucky. He was bitten on his right index finger by a small but poisonous snake when he tried to seize it in the garage of an office building on Huichuan Road, Changning District. His finger soon swelled and he began to vomit and feel dizzy.

He was rushed to Longhua Hospital, where doctors were able to treat the poison with anti-venom. Doctors said the snake may have been from the ussuriensis family based on the security guard's description.

The director of the reptile unit of the Shanghai Zoo, surnamed Wu, said people should be careful when walking near creeks and woods in the summer.

"Some of the snakes could be escaped from restaurants or from people who raise them for cooking because their meat is very popular," said Wu.

Doctors with Longhua Hospital said victims of snake bites should be rushed to hospital immediately.

(Shanghai Daily July 17, 2006)