Ground squirrel pups are a staple of the rattlesnake’s diet, with their small body sizes juveniles are unable to neutralize a full dose of venom.

In another arm, in which 2,700 people were accidentally given a half dose initially, followed by a full dose booster, the effectiveness rose to 90 per cent.

A single tablet of ibuprofen (200mg), plus a tablet of paracetamol (500mg), worked significantly better than a full dose of either, providing good pain relief in around three-quarters of cases.

Subjects who took the full dose experienced reductions in anxiety averaging 20 per cent while those given the low dose reported becoming more anxious.

Because of an error in the registration of the number of sessions, she received the full dose in each session of radiotherapy.