EMS team under fire for treating man with antivenom after he was bitten by a mamba snake

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[The director of] the Kentucky Reptile Zoo was bitten by a highly venomous Jameson’s Mamba while on the job in May. (SOURCE: WKYT)

By Alyssa Williams and Andrew McMunn
Published: Sep. 25, 2025 at 3:52 PM EDT | Updated: 14 hours ago

POWELL COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT/Gray News) – An EMS team in Kentucky is in hot water after they treated a man who had been bitten by a mamba snake with antivenom. … James Harrison, the director of the Kentucky Reptile Zoo, was bitten by a highly venomous Jameson’s mamba while on the job in May. … Harrison got the antivenom he needed to live at the zoo, but he spent days recovering in the ICU. … The first responders who helped administer the antivenom are now in trouble.

Powell County Judge-Executive Eddie Barnes said he and another EMS worker were called to help Harrison after he was bitten. … “I’ll be honest with you, I think it’s ridiculous,” Barnes said. … Barnes said they first received directions from Harrison on what to do. … “The victim had told us that we needed to administer the antivenom as soon as possible, and if not, the first stage is paralysis, the second stage is respiratory arrest, the third stage is cardiac arrest, then he said, ‘I’m going to die,’” Barnes said.

Barnes said they were unable to reach their EMS director, but they did speak with medical staff at Clark Regional Medical Center. … While they were waiting for a helicopter to take Harrison to a UK hospital, they gave him the antivenom. … The decision is one that Harrison’s wife, Kristen Wiley, is thankful for. … “Every physician that we’ve talked to about it, and about the course of the bite, agrees that they were heroes and did what needed to be done to save him. That’s who I want working on me in an emergency,” Wiley said.

The Kentucky Board of Emergency Medical Services, or KBEMS, may think otherwise. … Barnes said he later learned KBEMS’ policy changed two years ago, and that only wilderness paramedics can administer antivenom now.

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