The museum’s collection contains examples of antivenoms that were produced specifically to treat bites and stings of those venomous creatures endemic to the United States. Depending on the amount and toxicity of the venom, a victim may need many injections of antivenom to sufficiently neutralize the venom.Īntivenom must be tailored to combat the venom of a particular species. Thus, it is important that antivenom treatment start as quickly as possible. The blood serum or plasma is then concentrated and purified into pharmaceutical-grade antivenom.Īlthough Antivenom can prevent venom-induced damage to a body, it is less able to reverse damage already wreaked by the venom. The antibodies released by the animal’s immune system to fight the damaging venom are later harvested via bleeding. An animal, such as a horse or goat, is injected with a small amount of venom.

If injected quickly after a bite or sting, the antibodies in antivenom neutralize the venom, potentially saving the victim’s life or limb.Īntivenom is still produced by much the same method that was developed in the 1890s to produce antitoxins for diphtheria and tetanus. In the United States, envenomation (the injection of venom) usually happens during an encounter with a snake, spider, or insect.Īntivenom (often spelled “antivenin”) is an antibody product that can disable a particular venom’s toxins. The bite or sting of a highly venomous animal can inflict great suffering, including loss of limbs, paralysis, and an extremely painful death.

Eliot Elisofon Photographic Archives, African Art.

Antidote