Snake bite cases increase in certain regions of our country (Southeast Anatolia and Çukurova regions are the most important ones) and especially in the summer months. Mixed blood circulates in the bodies of snakes and they increase their body temperature by lying in the sun (1). In the fall, they retreat to secluded places and spend the winter inactive

Snake bite cases increase in certain regions of our country (Southeast Anatolia and Çukurova regions are the most important ones) and especially in the summer months.
Mixed blood circulates in the bodies of snakes and they increase their body temperature by lying in the sun (1). In the fall, they retreat to secluded places and spend the winter inactive. They appear again in the spring when they wake up from hibernation. The months of September, October and November, which are the preparation periods for hibernation, are also the periods when olives are harvested.
A study determined that almost half of the enterprises (48.13%) started harvesting after October 29, 19.37?tween October 15 and November 15, 16.88% at the end of November and 15.62?tween September 15 and October 15. In the study conducted by Özgürsoy; it was determined that the olive harvest in the research region examined started in September and continued until the end of December. It was observed that 9.4% of the olives were harvested in October, 39.3% in November and 51.3% in December (2,3).
Olive pickers are exposed to bites if they do not notice snake nests in the gardens. An increase in snake bite cases can be seen during this period.
In many studies, snakebite cases are encountered in spring and summer months. In a 2-year study conducted by Al et al., 80% of 79 cases were encountered in summer and spring months (4). In another study with 51 cases, the most frequent cases were seen in August, while in other studies, no cases were reported between December and March (5-8). In another study conducted by us, when snakebite cases that came between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2010 were examined, it was determined that 27 (21.6%) of 125 snakebite cases came in June, 1 (0.8%) came in February, and no cases were seen in December and January (9,10). When the total number of snakebite cases brought to our hospital in 20 years was examined, it was determined that the total number was 483, and an average of 24 cases were followed up annually (Table 1).

Table 1: Distribution of snake bite cases by month and year

When evaluated according to months, it was seen that the cases came most frequently in June n=107, and in the autumn months (September, October, November) the cases increased, contrary to the literature. It was concluded that the reason for this could be compatible with the olive harvest time, which is a characteristic of our region.
As a result, we believe that the public should be made aware of the subject before the olive harvest season and that the number of cases will decrease as a result of careful behavior