An American man deliberately injected snake venom for almost two decades. Tim Friede's blood protects venom mortal doses from a wide range of species. The story of the incredible "antidote man" is very useful to science.
The feat he made for 18 years could facilitate the finding of a universal antidote against all snake bites. Now they kill 140,000 people a year and leave three times more people with permanent amputations or disabilities.
Fearsome poison
There are more than 200 bites and more than 700 poison injections of some of the most deadly snakes in the world. Among them multiple species of mamba, cobra, taipán and bungary. Initially he wanted to develop his own immunity to protect himself by manipulating snakes. He documented his process on YouTube.
Currently, the antidote is manufactured by injecting small doses of snake venom into animals such as horses. Its immune system fights poison producing antibodies. And are subsequently extracted to use as humans. But poison and antidote must be very similar. Toxins from a poisonous bite vary from one species to another. Dr. Jacob Glanville, executive director of the Centivax Biotechnological Company, ran into the story of Tim Friede.
"On the first call, I said: 'This may sound a bit weird, but I would love to get a sample of your blood.'" Friede accepted. They did experiments with mice. His blood allowed animals to survive mortal doses of 13 of the 19 species of poisonous snakes. Something unprecedented.
Valuable blood
The search continues in Tim Friede's blood samples. «His antibodies are extraordinary. It teaches your immune system to recognize toxins, ”they add. The greatest hope is to have a single antidote that serves everything.
The wide protection described in the study made with Friede's blood is undoubtedly novel. It provides "a solid evidence" that it is a viable approach. The antidote still needs exhaustive tests before being able to be used in people. For Friede, the incredible "antidote man", getting to this stage "makes me feel good." «I am doing something good for humanity and that was very important to me. I am proud of it. It is great ».
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