Artificial human antibody will eliminate snake venom, will also neutralize the bite of snakes like cobra krait

Every year thousands of people around the world lose their lives due to snakebite. But, now this problem can be solved soon.

Scientists have prepared artificial human antibodies which will neutralize the bites of highly poisonous snakes like cobra, king cobra and krait. Researchers claimed that the effect of the antibody was found to be about 15 times more than that of traditional antivenom.

This finding of the researchers has been published in the Science Translational Medicine Journal. Said, this new antibody has been developed in the same way as the antibodies for HIV and Covid-19 were developed. Senji Lakshmi, who is pursuing her PhD from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, said that this is the first time that this strategy of developing antibodies has been adopted for the treatment of snakebite.

Researchers from America’s Scripps Research Institute, who were part of the research team, said that this study is a step towards a universal antibody solution, which can protect us from the venom of different types of snakes. Those most affected by snakebite include India and areas of Sub-Saharan Africa.

The current method of preparing antivenom is very complex
Karthik Sungar, Associate Professor, IISc, said, the current process of developing antivenom involves injecting snake venom into animals like horses, ponies and mules and collecting antibodies from their blood. This is a very complex and risky process as these animals can be infected with a variety of bacteria and viruses.

Therefore, antibodies to these micro-organisms are also found in the antivenom obtained from them. This adulteration blunts its level of effectiveness. Now researchers have claimed for the antibody prepared that it will eliminate the effect of Three Finger Toxin (3FT), which is considered to be the most toxic poison. This antibody is effective against 99 out of 149 variants of 3FT.

Successful test done on rats

Researchers tested the developed antibodies on animal models. Tests found that just by administering the poison, rats died within four hours. But those given the venom-antibody mixture remained alive after a 24-hour observation period and appeared completely healthy. The team also tested their antibodies against the whole venom of the monocled cobra of eastern India and the black mamba of sub-Saharan Africa and found the expected results.