NEWS | NORTH COAST
After NorCal rattlesnake bite, man needs 54 doses of antivenom to survive

One bite sent venom directly into his bloodstream.

By Gillian Mohney,
News Editor
July 9, 2026


Afternoon autumn aerial view of the Feather River as it runs through Oroville, Calif.
MattGush/Getty Images/iStockphoto

An Idaho man visiting his parents in Oroville thought he had stepped on a sharp sticker plant or thistle when he looked down to see a rattlesnake at his feet instead. … “I got bit twice, and one of the bites, where it was was kind of a shallow, but the other one got my vein,” Chris Howarth told SFGATE. “... I went inside. My wife thought I was joking.” … But when Chris showed his wife his leg, she and their young children started “freaking out.”

Chris had just stepped into his parents’ backyard to check the waterline when he was bitten on May 26. The bites happened as California saw a spring increase in rattlesnake activity following a March heat wave this year, with three people dying due to rattlesnake bites and at least 249 bites reported as of early July.

Chris’ wife Jenny Howarth immediately drove him to the Oroville Hospital about 15 minutes away. By the time they arrived, he was already showing signs of a reaction to the venom, including a numb tongue, swollen lymph nodes and difficulty breathing. While he was able to receive the antivenom in about an hour, the ordeal didn’t end there.

One of the puncture wounds was deeper, meaning venom from the snake went “directly into his bloodstream,” Jenny said. … For days at Oroville Hospital, Chris said he felt like he was on a roller coaster as antivenom would help clear his symptoms only for them to return hours later.

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July 9, 2026

Gillian Mohney
NEWS EDITOR
Gillian Mohney is a breaking news editor at SFGATE. Previously, she worked at Healthline and ABC News, where she covered health, science and national news. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and has lived in the Bay Area for nearly a decade.