Is there a cure for viper venom?

Antivenom is the treatment for serious snake envenomation. The sooner antivenom can be started, the sooner irreversible damage from venom can be stopped.

Only a fraction of these bites are fatal, but toxins in snake venom can trigger serious medical emergencies that occur within hours; they can cause organ failure, uncontrollable bleeding, severe tissue destruction and paralysis that may restrict breathing, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Marlin Perkins, who was the host of television's ''Wild Kingdom'' program for many years and who died in 1986, was one person who survived a bite by a Gaboon viper. The adult viper is typically only four feet long, a stumpy creature with a beautiful tapestry pattern on its skin.

Viper antivenom works as an antidote to venom toxins of viper snakes. Viper antivenom contains venom-specific F(ab')2 fragments of immunoglobulin G (IgG) that bind and neutralize venom toxins, facilitating redistribution away from target tissues and elimination from the body.

Administered early, antivenoms are not just life-saving, but can also spare patients some of the suffering caused by necrotic and other toxins in snake venom, leading to faster recovery, less time in hospital and a more rapid transition back to a productive life in their communities.

Bites and Stings

Although viper and pit viper venom composition varies from snake to snake, components can lead to capillary leak, abnormal clotting, inefficient muscle movement, or neurotoxicity. Capillary leak and abnormal clotting can lead to tachycardia, hypotension, or even hemorrhagic shock.

A nationwide study and evidence synthesis estimated that 43% of reported bites in India are likely to be due to Russell's viper envenoming 4. Russell's viper is reported as the species responsible for up to 80% mortality in several hospital-based series across India 14,15.

It might be obvious, but the thing to do if you are bitten by a venomous snake is to get to a hospital quickly and receive an antidote. Many people think that the venom kicks in instantly, but it can take between 20 minutes and 72 hours to die if left untreated.

Viper venom causes tissue damage at the bite site and in its proximity, with changes in red blood cells, defects in coagulation, and damage to blood vessels and often to the heart, kidneys, and lungs.

Pit Viper. While a copperhead snake bite is not often deadly, it can cause severe pain within a few minutes of the bite.

Rather than non-IgE-mediated immediate hypersensitivity, patients receiving the second treatment of antivenom may develop IgE-mediated immediate hypersensitivity. Once happened, the antivenom treatment should be stopped promptly and anti-allergy treatment should be given immediately.

Dry bites or bites where only a very small amount of venom is injected may cause slight bleeding, pain, and swelling at the bite injury. If a moderate amount of venom was injected, you are more likely to have severe pain, swelling of the whole limb, and general ill feelings, such as nausea, vomiting, and weakness.

This results in an animal that can withstand venom with little or no side effect. So far scientists fully understand venom resistance in only four mammals - mongooses, honey badgers, hedgehogs and pigs - as well as several snakes.

The inland taipan (Oxyuranus microlepidotus) is considered the most venomous snake in the world with a murine LD ₅₀ value of 0.025 mg/kg SC. Ernst and Zug et al. 1996 list a value of 0.01 mg/kg SC, which makes it the most venomous snake in the world in their study too. They have an average venom yield of 44 mg.

For more than 100 years, the mainstay of primary treatment for snakebite has been the administration of antivenoms. Antivenoms work by boosting our immune response after a snakebite. They are made by immunizing donor animals such as horses or sheep with snake venoms.

Poisons are substances that are toxic (cause harm) if swallowed or inhaled. Venoms are generally not toxic if swallowed, and must be injected under the skin (by snakes, spiders, etc.) into the tissues that are normally protected by skin in order to be toxic. However, we do NOT recommend drinking venom!

Most venomous snakes belong to the elapid or viperid families. In general, the elapid venoms comprise toxins affecting the nervous system and are considered as neurotoxic, while the action of viperid venoms is directed mainly on blood coagulation and they are regarded as hemotoxic.

The Viperidae (vipers) are a family of snakes found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipers), hinged fangs that permit deep penetration and injection of their venom.

Snake venom poisoning is associated with a number of cardiovascular effects, including hypotension, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, hypertension, brady- or tachycardia, and atrial fibrillation 1.

It was about midday on a Thursday in January 1998 when Danie Pienaar came face to face with a black mamba and its bite. Danie, now head of Scientific Services in the Kruger National Park, was a student at the time and tracking white rhinos near the Phabeni tributary, south of Pretoriuskop.

First Aid

Permanent neurological injury from hypoxic encephalopathy is an important long-term effect of snake envenoming. Respiratory paralysis or cardiac arrest can both result in hypoxia and multiorgan failure. In many cases, this results in an early death, but some patients survive with significant neurological impairment.

Caution

For best results, antivenom should be given as soon as possible after the bite. It is usually given within the first 4 hours after the snakebite and may be effective for 2 weeks or more after the bite. Snake venoms can cause many problems, such as: Blood-clotting problems.

Abstract. Bleeding following bites by the Malayan Pit Viper can either be local or systemic. Bleeding at the site of the bite is due to the local action of the venom as a vasculotoxin.

Australia not only contains more species of venomous snake than any other country on earth, but also includes among those snakes no less than nine of the world's top ten most venomous snake species.

Many people who survive bites nevertheless suffer from permanent tissue damage caused by venom, leading to disability. Most snake envenomings and fatalities occur in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, with India reporting the most snakebite deaths of any country.