An Antidote for Snake-Poisons.

Cromwell Argus, Volume XXVII, Issue 1374, 27 August 1895, Page 3

An Antidote for SnakePoisons.

Professor T. £t. Fraser read a paper recently at the Itoyal Society lof Edinburgh onv rendering animals immune against the venom of the cobra and other serpents, and on the antidotal properties of the blood serum on the immunised animals. After an historical account of the beliefs hitherto held on the subject. Professor Fraser adverted to the fact, which had been proved by direct experiment to be correct, that poisonous serpents were protected from the effects of their own poison by some result of the absorption of the venom. Since 1889 he had received from different parts of the sjlobe supplies of snake poisons, especially that of India cobra, and with this had performed many experiments on animals, in the hope of producing immunity. The results he obtained passed his most sanguine expectations. Experimenting on rabbits, among other animals, he first satisfied himself as to the amount of the poison wh»ch constituted the minimum lethal dose. He then proceeded to inject quantities below this amount, and found that he could gradually increase tbem to fifty times the dose originally fatal. But not only that, for a buck rabbit, which he exhibited, and which was then in about the 150 th day of treatment, had gained enormously in weight, from 2,000 grammes to 3,000 grammes, and had increased greatly in strength, and especially in virile power. . Again, he found that the mixture of 1.240 cc. of serum obtained from a rabbit immunised to thirty times the minimum lethal dose with cobra venom averted a fatal result on injection, while the injection of a similar serum half. an hour after the injection of a venom which otherwise proved fatal in one hour promptly stopped the symptoms which had already commenced and saved the life of the animal. He called this protective serum by the name of Antivenine. He also mentioned as an interesting fact that the rabbit above referred to had received during the months of treatment enough cobra poison to kill two horses, or about 280 rabits if unprotected.