Biting Back:
Costa Rica
Experts Harvest
Deadly Snake
Venom
The dreaded
Matabuey, a
snake so
fearsome its
name means "ox
killer," has a
deadly bite that
immobilizes its
prey in minutes,
making it the
kind of creature
generally to be
avoided.
But far from
steering clear
of the legless
lizards,
researchers at
the world
leading
Clodomiro Picado
institute in
Costa Rica are
avidly
cultivating
them, along with
hundreds of
equally-venomous
vipers.
Scientists raise
the deadly
reptiles to
harvest their
venom, the key
ingredient in
the massive
quantities of
life-saving
antivenom
produced by the
institute each
year from some
800 snakes.
Venom from the
Matabuey and
other
pit-vipers,
known as
bushmasters,
helps
herpetologists
produce the
serum
administered to
snakebite
victims around
the world who
would otherwise
face certain
death.
Poisonous snakes
raised in this
research
facility about
20 kilometers
north of the
Costa Rican
capital San José
are kept in
meticulously
labeled glass
containers for
the sole purpose
of collecting
their venom.
The poison is
extracted from
the snakes
"three or four
times a year,"
said
herpetologist
Fabian Bonilla,
who once
survived the
potentially
lethal bite of a
coral snake --
another viper in
the institute's
impressive
collection.
For researchers
in this
subtropical
country, where a
host of venomous
snakes flourish,
the extraction
of venom is so
methodical that
it has an almost
ritualistic
quality.
"The animal does
not eat for two
weeks before the
extraction,"
said Bonilla,
explaining that
many snakes also
use venom to
digest their
prey and
therefore the
amount of poison
they produce
diminishes
greatly after
they have eaten.
"Afterwards, it
needs time to
de-stress and
eat well," since
the extraction
process "is very
stressful for
the animal," he
said.
The director of
the institute,
Yamileth Angulo,
revealed that
the use of
horses is the
crucial next
step in the
production
process.
The animals are
injected with
small, nonlethal
doses of venom
for three
successive
months,
producing
antibodies in
their blood.
A small amount
of the horse's
blood is then
removed and
plasma is
extracted
containing the
vital antibodies
which, when
injected into a
snake bite
victim, will
neutralize its
venom.
"When we see
that the horse
has responded
well and has
produced large
quantities of
antibodies we
extract some of
its blood --
about eight
liters of blood
each day for
three days from
each horse,"
Angulo said.
After separating
out the red
blood cells from
the plasma, the
blood is
re-injected into
the horse.
"That way, we
ensure that
nothing bad
happens to the
animal,"
explained Angulo.
Soon after being
captured in the
wild, the snakes
are placed in
quarantine and
checked for
parasites.
Once given a
clean bill of
health they are
"milked" for
their venom, and
fed a diet
corresponding to
what they might
have eaten in
the wild --
usually dead
rodents or in
the case of
corals, smaller
snakes.
But despite the
fastidious care
they receive at
the center,
their lives here
are often short.
"Many die
because they do
not adapt
quickly to
captivity,"
admitted
biologist Aaron
Gomez.
The institute,
which operates
under the aegis
of the
University of
Costa Rica,
manufactures
100,000 doses of
snake antivenom,
which is sold
throughout the
Americas as well
as Africa, Papua
New Guinea,
Australia and
Taiwan.
Thanks to an
agreement
reached with the
World Health
Organization, it
also provides
the medicine to
various African
countries for
the greatly
discounted sum
of about 20
dollars per dose
"just to covers
our costs,"
Angulo said.
At market rate
the life-saving
antivenom can
cost as much as
1,000 dollars
per dose, he
said.
Since each
family of snake
has its own
antidote, the
institute has an
agreement with
Liverpoool
University in
Britain, which
also has a large
collection of
venomous snakes.
The British
university sends
it venom from
some of the
snakes in its
collection,
allowing the
Costa Rican
institute to
create a broader
array of snake
antivenom.
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