I'll freely admit that I've never looked into how antivenom is created, but I completely assumed we altered the captured venom in some way and not used animals to create antibodies. Interesting,...
Venom is injected into a horse’s body in tiny amounts every ten days for two or three months initially, then once every two months—enough for its immune system to learn to recognize and create antibody defenses against the venom over time, but not enough to harm the horse. Afterward, blood is extracted from the horse in a quantity that is “like donating blood at a blood bank,” according to Gutiérrez. “We have the horses under strict veterinary control.”
Once the blood settles, the antibody-containing plasma is separated, purified, filtered, sterilized and mixed into a neutral liquid. The antivenoms are sent to hospitals, clinics and primary health posts, where they are diluted with saline and administered intravenously into snakebite victims.
I'll freely admit that I've never looked into how antivenom is created, but I completely assumed we altered the captured venom in some way and not used animals to create antibodies. Interesting, thanks for sharing.
I'll freely admit that I've never looked into how antivenom is created, but I completely assumed we altered the captured venom in some way and not used animals to create antibodies. Interesting, thanks for sharing.