There could soon be a universal treatment for snake venom, according to Trinity Professor Luke O’Neill.

Around 140,000 people die from snake bites every year, while a further 300,000 are permanently injured.

"It was already known, for over 100 years now, actually, that you could make antibodies [for snake venom] in horses and sheep, often from a single snake species,” Prof O’Neill told the Show Me The Science podcast.

“Then, you know, that would be used to neutralise a bite off that specific snake.

“There’s always been problems with this approach though, because some antibodies purified from the sheep and the horses can cause an adverse reaction, it’s called anaphylaxis.

“Then, the other problem is, what snake bit you? Because obviously, each antivenom was from injecting that horse or sheep with one specific venom.”

Snake.

However, one man in the United States may have singlehandedly unlocked the key to a universal antidote that could work on most, if not all, venomous snake bites.

“He was a man who kept snakes for a pet, Tim Friede; he’s a former truck mechanic from Wisconsin,” Prof O’Neill said.

“His hobby was keeping snakes, and he self-administered, get this, more than 850 doses of venom from snake into his own body.

“So, he managed to poison himself, if you will, with venom from cobras, mambas, rattlesnakes and a few other deadly species into his body.

“The reason he did it was he wanted to become immune to the snake bites.”

Partial protection

Mr Friede’s personal experiments went on for 18 years, after which he was discovered by the chief of a US biotech company.

Scientists were able to purify antibodies from Mr Friede’s blood, which is now being used as the basis for an antivenom that protects against 13 of the deadliest species of snake and offers partial protection against many others.

Work is ongoing in developing a completely universal antidote, according to Prof O’Neill.

Main image: Luke O'Neill in the Newstalk studio (L) and a snake (R).