The Problem with Antivenom

Published on 12 Jun 2025, 17:42

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Venomous snakes kill nearly 100,000 people a year. Which is weird, because we have a pretty effective treatment for venomous snake bites; it’s actually been around for more than a hundred years. So why are so many people still dying?

LEARN MORE
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To learn more about this topic, start your googling with these keywords:
- Envenomation: The process by which venom is injected by a venomous animal.
- Antivenom: Purified antibodies against specific venom components.
- Tropical zone: The area of the Earth between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
- Toxicofera: The clade of snakes and lizards that first evolved venom more than 170 million years ago.

If you liked this week’s video, you might also like:
“How Horses Save Humans From Snakebites” by @veritasium
youtube.com/watch?v=7ziWrneMYs...

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CREDITS
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David Goldenberg | Script Writer, Narrator and Director
Lizah van der Aart | Illustration, Video Editing and Animation
Nathaniel Schroeder | Music

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REFERENCES
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Global Snakebite Initiative. (2021) “Minutes To Die Documentary.” youtu.be/jKOSo_9kvtA

Fry, B. (2020). Antivenom’s Fatal Flaw. The University of Queensland. uq.edu.au/research/impact/stor...

Sachs, J. (2001). “Tropical Underdevelopment.” National Bureau of Economic Research. nber.org/papers/w8119

Afroz, A., Siddiquea, B. N., Chowdhury, H. A., Jackson, T. N., & Watt, A. D. (2024). Snakebite envenoming: A systematic review and meta-analysis of global morbidity and mortality. PLoS neglected tropical diseases, 18(4), e0012080. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0...

Wilcox, C. (2024). Powerful new antivenom raises hopes for a universal solution to lethal snakebites. science.org/content/article/po...