Watch the moment snake poison is turned into antivenom

Описание: The World Health Organization says 5.4 million people are bitten by snakes each year, resulting in between 83,000-138,000 deaths.
The lack of anti venom treatments around the world is threatening lives needlessly says the WHO.

In Costa Rica venomous snakes are bred by scientists for their venom which is then injected into horses to create antibodies to treat humans who are bitten by snakes.

There are more than twenty species of venomous snakes in Costa Rica.

Here at the Clodomiro Picado Institute vets turn snake charmers to extract lethal venom. It is used to produce antivenom which is exported around the world.

Antivenoms are administered to patients who have suffered a bite from a venomous snake and work by boosting our immune response.

The institute produces 100,000 to 150,000 doses per year, which are exported to Central America, South America, Asia and more than 6 countries in the African continent.

But first of all, the snake must be handled carefully and the venom extracted.

The next stage of the process takes place on a horse farm.

The snake venom is injected into horses in small doses, this causes an immune response and the horses, which have robust immune systems, create antibodies which are later extracted.

The World Health Organization's website says that horses injected with snake venom

"produce powerful antibodies that can bind to snake venom components, enabling our own immune defenses to eliminate these toxins".

The blood cells are separated from the plasma and returned to the horse so it doesn't become anaemic.

The horse antibodies are then extracted from the blood plasma and purified, sterilized and packaged ready to be shipped around the world.

The Clodomiro Picado Institute is attached to the University of Costa Rica and was involved in drafting WHO guidelines for the production, control and regulation of snake antivenom.