For people bitten by Africa’s deadliest snakes, time is precious. A black mamba bite can kill within hours, paralysing the lungs and heart. Across sub-Saharan Africa, more than 300,000 people suffer snake bites every year, with thousands dying or losing limbs. Scientists now say a new antivenom could change that.
Can one antivenom treat multiple snake bites?
A study published in Nature by Andreas Laustsen and his team at the Technical University of Denmark introduces a broad-spectrum antivenom that targets venom from many snakes. Traditional antivenoms are made by injecting animals like horses with one specific snake’s venom. But this new approach used an alpaca and a llama that were injected with venom from 18 African snakes, including the black mamba, cape cobra, and Nubian spitting cobra.
How does this new antivenom work?
Snake venom contains numerous, diverse proteins that act destructively on the body, though key sites of toxicity often remain conserved through phylogeny.
By exposing the camelids to several venoms, scientists triggered their immune systems to produce antibodies that recognise these common areas. Over 60 weeks, the animals received increasing doses, helping them build strong defences. Unlike horses, camelids make particular kinds of antibodies, nanobodies, which are smaller-sized yet effective.
What makes nanobodies more effective?
Certain characteristics for which nanobodies are known include stability and resilience. They survive freeze-drying, hence they are ideal for use in remote areas without refrigeration. Their small size also allows them to reach deep tissues and cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively than traditional antibodies. After testing, Laustsen’s team selected eight nanobodies that neutralised toxins from almost all tested snake species.
Did the antivenom actually work?
The results were encouraging. When tested on mice, the antivenom protected them from lethal doses of venom from 17 of the 18 snakes. Only the eastern green mamba remained deadly, though researchers believe adding more nanobodies could solve this. The new formula also prevented severe tissue damage at the bite site, which often leads to amputations in human victims.
What comes next for the research?
While the study focused on elapid snakes like cobras and mambas, Laustsen’s team is now studying viper venom, which causes internal bleeding instead of paralysis. The goal is to create a combined treatment that can neutralise both elapid and viper bites. Such a medicine could save lives by removing the need to identify the snake species before treatment.
If successful, this universal antivenom could transform how doctors respond to snake bites in Africa and beyond, offering new hope where time and resources often run out too soon.
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