According to HealthDay News, capsules of dried rattlesnake meat — a Hispanic folk remedy purported to cure a host of health problems including acne, impotence, AIDS and cancer — can be contaminated with a potentially lethal strain of salmonella bacteria, a U.S. infection control expert warns. 

John James, a microbial epidemiologist at Children’s Hospital in Denver, said the life-threatening strain of bacteria — Salmonella arizonae — in capsules of dried rattlesnake meat caused a child to become seriously ill. The child survived.  Salmonella arizonae is commonly found in snakes and lizards.