Man injected himself with snake venom hundreds of times

Yes, you read that headline right! Over the course of nearly 18 years, a self-taught snake expert based in California exposed himself to the venom of snakes, effectively gaining immunity to several neurotoxins and furthering science and medicine’s ability to develop effective antivenins.

WHAT?!  SERIOUSLY?! While seemingly admirable, why on earth would anyone PURPOSELY inject themselves over and over and over again with dangerous snake venom?!

If you’re unlucky enough to have a venomous snake sink its fangs into you, your best hope is an antivenom administered at a hospital. Traditionally, the process of creating an antivenom involves milking snake venom by hand and injecting it into horses or other animals in small doses to evoke an immune response. The animal’s blood is drawn and purified to obtain antibodies that act against the venom. Producing antivenom in this way can get messy, not to mention dangerous. The laborious process is prone to errors, and the finished serum can result in serious side effects.

Experts have long called for better ways to treat snakebites, which kill some 200 people a day, mainly in the developing world, and leave 400,000 people a year with disabilities. The World Health Organization added snakebite to its list of neglected tropical diseases in 2017.

In an effort to create more effective antivenom treatments, scientists studied the blood of this selfless man, and scrutinized the meticulous records that he had kept all those years. What they discovered is that by exposing himself to the venom of snakes for nearly two decades, by injecting venom and allowing himself to be bitten, the man generated antibodies that were effective against several snake neurotoxins at once.  The courageous man gave up immunizing himself with snake venom in 2018 after some close calls.  The researchers isolated antibodies from the blood that reacted with neurotoxins found within the 19 snake species tested in the study, which included coral snakes, mambas, cobras, taipans, kraits and others. Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons then published details of an antivenom that can protect against bites from 19 species of venomous snake — at least in mice — based on antibodies in the blood and a venom-blocking drug.

The drug cocktail the scientific team created ultimately included three things: two antibodies isolated from the willing victim’s blood, and the small-molecule drug varespladib, which inhibits an enzyme that is present in 95% of all snakebites. The drug is currently in human clinical trials as a standalone treatment. Despite the revolutionary potential of this new antivenom, your best bet at this point is prevention. Wearing snake proof gaiters, chaps, or boots can provide peace of mind and perhaps even save your life! If bitten, do not hesitate. Seek immediate medical attention.