{"id":40061,"date":"2024-07-17T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-07-17T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/6d8744c0-a868-4e71-96ae-3dc137f8c928"},"modified":"2024-07-17T08:27:30","modified_gmt":"2024-07-17T06:27:30","slug":"deadly-cobra-bites-to-drastically-reduce-as-scientists-discover-new-antivenom","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/deadly-cobra-bites-to-drastically-reduce-as-scientists-discover-new-antivenom\/","title":{"rendered":"Deadly cobra bites to “drastically reduce” as scientists discover new antivenom"},"content":{"rendered":"

After successful human trials, the snake venom antidote could be rolled out relatively quickly to become a cheap, safe and effective drug for treating cobra bites and saving lives around the globe, say scientists. <\/p>

By Daniel Graham\n <\/p>

Published: Wednesday, 17 July 2024 at 06:00 AM<\/p>

\n\n

Scientists have found that a commonly used blood thinner known as heparin can be repurposed as an inexpensive antidote for cobra venom.<\/strong><\/p>

The new discovery could drastically reduce injuries from necrosis \u2013 the death of body tissue and cells \u2013 caused by cobra bites.<\/p>

Heparin might also slow the movement of venom<\/a>, which could improve survival rates, say researchers from The University of Sydney<\/a> and Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine<\/a>, who published their findings today in the journal\u00a0 Science Translational Medicine<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>

The term ‘cobra’ refers to a group of\u00a0venomous\u00a0African or Asian snakes, including the zebra snake (Naja nigricincta), seen here in Namibia. Credit: Wolfgang W\u00fcster<\/figcaption><\/figure>10 deadliest snakes in the world<\/a><\/li>
Discover the weirdest snakes on the planet<\/a><\/li><\/ul>
Cobras \u2013 a\u00a0common name for various venomous snake<\/a> species \u2013 kill thousands of people a year. Perhaps a hundred thousand more are seriously injured by necrosis caused by the venom, which in some cases can lead to the amputation of limbs.<\/p>
The discovery was made by a team of scientists based in Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the UK. Using CRISPR gene-editing technology \u2013 a method that\u00a0can modify precise regions of DNA to treat serious diseases \u2013 they successfully repurposed heparin, proving that the common blood thinner can stop the necrosis caused by cobra bites.<\/p>
A Nubian spitting cobra (Naja nubiae) is a species of spitting cobra native to Africa. Credit: The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London and Callum Mair<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Current antivenom treatment doesn’t effectively treat the flesh around snakebites, and it’s expensive, says\u00a0Professor Greg Neely, a corresponding author of the study from the\u00a0 Charles Perkins Centre<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0 Faculty of Science<\/a>\u00a0at the University of Sydney.<\/p>
Unlike the 19th-century antidote technologies, the heparinoid drugs act as a \u2018decoy\u2019 antidote, binding to and neutralising the toxins within the venom that cause tissue damage, the study explains.<\/p>
The new antidote discovery has other benefits, says lead author of the study Tian Dufrom. “Heparin is inexpensive, ubiquitous and a World Health Organization-listed Essential Medicine<\/a>. After successful human trials, it could be rolled out relatively quickly to become a cheap, safe and effective drug for treating cobra bites.\u201d<\/p>
Snakebites\u00a0kill up to 138,000 people a year, with more than twice that number experiencing long-term consequences of the bite. The study cites snakebites as the deadliest of the neglected tropical diseases. Rural communities in low-income and middle-income countries are the worst hit. In some parts of India and Africa, cobra species account for most snakebite incidents.<\/p>
The World Health Organization has identified\u00a0 snakebite as a priority<\/a>, announcing an ambitious goal of reducing the ill effects of snakebites by half by 2030.<\/p>
\u201cThat target is just five years away now, says Professor Neely. “We hope that the new cobra antidote we found can assist in the global fight to reduce death and injury from snakebite in some of the world\u2019s poorest communities.\u201d<\/p>
Greg Neely explains how the new cobra venom antidote works. Credit: Greg Neely <\/figcaption><\/figure>
The study Du, T. et al, \u2018Molecular dissection of cobra venom highlights heparinoids as an effective snakebite antidote<\/em>\u2019 was published in Science Translational Medicine<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>
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