The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1898-02-09
CURE FOR SNAKE BITES.
From the Washington Post.
man Life.


so long sought in vain. The honor Of
the achievement belongs to DR.. A
Calmette, Of the Pasteur Institute al
Lille, France. He has succeeded in
obtaining as anti-toxin by inoculating
horses with progressive doses Of the
poison of the most deadly serpents,
such as the cobra. Having at length
rendered the animals proof against the
venom, even in large quantities, he
draws from them the serum which he
calls "anti-venom. This fluid, In
jected into the body Of a person bitten
by any kind of snake, will save life if
there has not been too much delay.
It's efficacy has already been proved
by trials with human patients, and
DR.. Calmette announces his readiness
to furnish it in small bottles free Of
charge to applicants anywhere in the
world.
The anti-venom is obtained just like
the serum for curing diphtheria. CO.
bra poison is preferred for use in the
work, because it is one Of the most
active of snake poisons. At the same
time it provoked less local bleeding
and less swelling about the wound
made by the hypodermic syringe. The
venom is injected beneath the skin Of
the horse, behind the shoulder. At
first the doses are very small, admin
istered at intervals of four or FIVE
hours. This is kept up, gradually in
creasing the doses, until the animal is
able to endure an amount which would
kill 250 large rats. The quantity re-
suired to kill rat is taken as sort
of unit of measurement, because most
of Dr.. Calmette' experiments were at
the expense of long-tailed rodents,
kept alive in cages and subjected to
injections of snake poison in varying
quantities. The horse is now con-
sidered completely immune, but to
reach this result requires continuous
treatment for six months, owing to the
difficulty of accustoming the beast to
the powerful venom.
There exists in the venom Of snakes
an ingredient not well understood,
which has the special effect Of infam-
ing the wound. This is neutralized
by heating the poison that is to be
used for injections. With each inoc-
ulation the local symptoms, swelling
and bleeding, become less noticeable.
No fever follows, but the horse is
restless, refuses food, sweats abund-
antly, and breatLes in labored way.
Much care must be taken net to ad-
minister dose that exceeds the prop
er limit even by triae. else the ami
NAL will be seized with collie and die.
Finally the horse is inocculated with
the Yenoms of several other species Of
deadly serpents. It is now in condi-
ton for service as producer of the
new remedy, but it must first be prov
ed by drawing off some of its blood
and trying the serum on rats and rab-
bits. IF the rats and rabbits thus
treated resist injections Of snake poi
son-that is, do not die from their
efects-the proposition is demonstra-
ted.
The anti-venom is prepared for
medical use in very simple fashion.
Blood is drawn from the immunized
horse into vessel, where it is per-
mitted to settle. The red corpuscles
sink to the bottom, and later the wa
terry part of serum is drawn off from
the top. The latter part is put in
little bottles enclosed for safety in
blocks of wood. Each bottle is mark
ed with the date of preparation, and
the contents are guaranteed to retain
the anti-toxic power for one year.
After that time the stuff is apt to
lose some of its efficacy. There is
now at the Pasteur Institute suffi
eient number Of horses immunized
and in course of immunization to re-
spond to the needs of the world for
ante-yenom. Already the serum is
being shipped to Australia, where
there arc very many deadly serpents,
and to India. where, according to
Government statistics, $4,000 persons
die annually Of snake bite, the cobra
being responsible for most of the
deaths.
1t is found necessary to keep on
dosing the immunized horses with
fresh injections Of venom, lest tht
serum they furnish lose its quality
The anti-venom is efficient against tho
poisons of all species Of deadly ser
pents that are common in the Old anc