How Antivenom Is Made During A Global Shortage | Big Business | Business Insider
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- Опубликовано: 27 май 2024
- Venemous snake bites are a hidden health crisis, killing as many as 137,000 each year. High quality antivenoms exist, but they're expensive and hard to make. Producing them requires venom from live snakes, and plasma from horses. Today, there's a global shortage. In Australia, Billy Collett risks his life by milking hundreds of venomous snakes a week. We traveled the globe to learn why snake bites are still a global health emergency, and why antivenom production still requires animals.
0:00 Intro
1:14 How deadly snakes are milked in Australia
6:09 Why horses are needed for antivenom
8:16 How a lab makes over 100,000 antivenom vials
9:21 Why India struggles with snakebite deaths
10:04 Why Sub-Saharan Africa struggles with snakebite deaths
13:37 How scientists are trying to reinvent antivenom
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Why People Risk Their Lives to Milk Deadly Snakes 
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Let's take a moment to appreciate that there are people like Billy who risk their lives every day so that others may live.
Yeah we had house in our suburb that was milking and breeding. It got closed down
You can see more of Billy on Bondi Vet. He also takes care of the crocs. There's an episode where a brown snake bit itself and Billy holds that snake for a while.
Billy also hand rears orphaned kangaroos.
@@FossillarsonWell, yeah. Some rando’s house is not a safe place to set up a venom lab. There’s no way that operation was above board
Don’t forget, he also enjoys his work and loves what he does for a living, so it’s not that much of a sacrifice. If he was to die (lord forbid) he would still die very happy. The risk and public’s appreciation is still there, but I’m sure people of similar character would love to take the same risk and are lining up outside the front door to take his spot. The money also might be good so he may not be struggling. Sounds like a dream job.
Lies again? AVN CAZOO Snake Eyes
Wow , immense respect for those people milking snakes . There is no amount of money that I would be able to do that for . I feel so blessed to be born in the UK where we don't have this problem . Got me wondering about spider's now and that anti venom 🤔
The Reptile Park where Billy works also has a program for milking venomous spiders. They talk about it in the Bondi Vet and Untamed shows which are available on RUclips.
@@abradyv Thank you , I will check that out .
Our UK daddy long legs actually have stronger venom than a black widow but luckily don't have the fangs to deliver a bite to us , other than that you don't have to worry about dying from venom of any kind here unless your super old and frail and force a super shy adder to bite you then possibly
@@HULLGRAFFITIsorry man but I think you've fallen for the urban legend there. Daddy long legs spiders (the Pholcidae family) can bite humans but their venom isn't medically significant in any way. And as for harvestmen and crane flies, both of which are often called daddy long legs, they don't have venom or indeed any fangs to speak of.
The only snake milker I respect is your mom 😂😂😂
15$ per vial is insane and the hospital charges thousands
Mainly in the USA though. In most other countries it will be a lot less, depending on the snake though. Some antivenoms are crazy expensive, mostly those of snakes of which hardly ever anyone is bitten (Boomslangs for example). Just research about the production of CroFab. That (kind of) explains it. Add to that the extreme capitalism of the US, where literally everything is just about maximizing profit and the terrible healthcare system in the US (not the quality of it, but the costs coupled with lack of universal healthcare). And then the antivenom is only part of the hospital bill. ICU if needed doesn't come cheap either. Hospital bills of several hundred thousands dollars are not unheard of and even with decent insurance, a severe snakebite can/will still put you back ten thousands of dollars in the US.
So yeah, if getting bit by a venomous snake is on your bucket list, better do it in a country with proper healthcare.
@@andreasgottlieb2758In my country, Bangladesh, it's completely free. It's paid by the government.
@@andreasgottlieb2758it should be noted that crofab is a newer generation of anti venom (FAB) that is less likely to cause allergic reactions and causes less side effects than older generation anti venom serums that are used in Australia and in most parts of the world. It was very expensive to develop and is way more expensive to produce than more primitive horse serum antivenins that have remained mostly unchanged since the 1800’s. Not to mention there aren’t many competitors on the market besides Anavip because it’s such an expensive medication to make compared to how few people actually use it or need it every year.
United States the only country to grossly overcharges for basic medical care.
It’s so sad that the people that need it the most often don’t get it because it can take too long to get help. My heart goes out to the mother who lost her little girl.
Billy is 100% certified as crazy crazy!!!
But he's a hero still.
The fact he can do this in shorts with no real PPE and stay calm is impressive to me.
Us Aussies do everything in shorts and thongs/sandals 🤣
They don't really make much as far as PPE goes for snakes, you got stuff like greaves to prevent bites to the leg where most people are bitten, an they make gloves that can prevent the small fangs of many elapids from puncturing, but still it's no guarantee an they wouldn't prevent a viper with their much longer fangs from giving you a potentially fatal bite. Really all they are is needle resistant gloves they make to prevent being poked, so they're not made for it but they have been used for it, also you lose dexterity in gloves which could just as easily cause you to be bitten.
I agree. I feel like he really needs to wear some form of protective gloves at the very least, though I'm not sure if it will impede the snake handling.
I really hope they keep anti venom at their workplace as a precaution.
Milking a deadly snake and still wearing only shorts and a T-shirt. What a crazy hero.
Due to the Brazilian fer de lance viper venom, my blood pressure has finally come in control …my hypertension was killing me …also worsening kidney function . Fer de lance haeomtoxic and neuro toxic venom woks to make its preys blood pressure crash rapidly so it dies quickly , but same compounds are helping patients like me 🙏🏾👌🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾… I thank this beautiful Brazilian snake 🐍 🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾
Basically blood thinner?
In Australia, as long as you aren't walking out into the bush and lifting up logs etc, you're safe. Snakes aren't stalking people as they walk down the street
thats just what the snakes want you to think
This man's pull-out method is S-tier.
🤣
It's cool seeing Billy in this video. He's appeared in some episodes of _Bondi Vet_ (which is available on RUclips) along with Tim Faulkner from the Australian Reptile Park.
Also an episode of Brave Wilderness.
I'm pretty sure the venom side business funds the rest of that zoo.
I was wondering if anyone else was gonna recognize him!
- 10:57 that poor little kid 😢 ❤
Extremely appreciative of all the people doing great work across the world.
I bet the Snake thinks " Damn feel for that again "
thank you billy and everybody that does this dangerous work i appreciate you do one love
Central Africa with probably the highest concentration of venomous snakes. It probably just doesn't get spoken about as much as Australia because I've always assumed Australia had more.
What about Southeast Asia?
I'm very Proud Of Billy also , he has to be one of the Tip Top Bravest Men On Earth.
Australians are wired differently.
Bless them.
Another reason horses and rabbits are used is because they've been in an evolutionary arms race with snakes.
I can't believe that it's the cost of starting a horse farm that results in not enough antivenin in places where venomous snakes are most prevalent.
Oh boy this is some courageous and commendable job. RESPECT
Huge respect for you people. Doing great work.
Horses are immune to snake venom, depending on the horse breed and snake species. I lived in Corona California next to the Cleveland National Forest, a brush covered, rattlesnake infested deathworld you would have to be crazy to hike. Over the 5 years I lived there we had 7 rattlers on the propery, 2 inside the house that bit the cats. The antivenom was $200 in the mid 1990s.
Brilliant reporting thanks to the business insider...
I remember my friend bite by king kobra died straight away in Ethiopian
I'm sorry about your friend :( may they rest in peace.
God Bless and Take Care.. You guys deserved the respect and appreciation.
And which "god" are you talking about? Zeus? Thor? Yahwey? Vishnu? Hera? Ra? Oooh, I bet it's Thor, those movies are GREAT!
Wait I'm sorry, did he say that little glass with barely a teaspoon of venom is enough to kill a few HUNDRED grown adults?!.....like wtf. Why do they even need to have venom that strong. Like a quarter of that would be sufficient to hunt prey. Thats crazy, snakes are so cool. Total salutes and kudos to snake milking experts. We have no other way of getting anti venom medicines without these people
For a lot of venomous snakes, the venom is so strong because it has a dual purpose. First, to incapacitate/kill the prey. Second, to do a lot of the predigestion that otherwise would be done via chewing in other carnivorous animals.
The snakes they have in the labs are also specifically bred to be the most venomous to get the most out of them
No amount of money could get me to do this job. It's ironic I love writing about snakes and how there used fiction but I don't like seeing them in real life.
For me it’s not the job but the regular clothes they wear. 😂😂😂 I’d do it if I had protection.
What?
As a kid I had nightmares of snakes and couldn’t sleep cuz of them and I would see a lady figure full with snakes . Years later I found out it was Medusa that was in my nightmares. Till this day 26 years old I’m scared of them
Love The Shot-Glass …!
Mátyás’s little doodle on his name tag is so cute. Do I know what it is? No. Is it still adorable? Yes, 100%
I have always wondered how people who get bitten by snakes are treated and this video just popped up it’s awful that more then 100000 person die a year because of sakes I hope access to antivenom gets easier for rural communities
A huge thank you to all the people and animals working with venom! ❤🙏 🤜
This video makes me feel so patriotic to be an Australian
Very interesting process @4:16 that Tai Pan was huge !!! 🐍
it must get milllions of views omg, just shocked how amazing and at the same time dangerous work they are doing
Surprisingly Indian Insurance companies does not consider snake bite as Accident. How about in other countries? Is Snake bite covered by health Insurance?
Yeah because it’s considered emergency care, bet it’s still insanely expensive though, that’s insane they don’t cover it there
The heck... Can't you make a device that fixes the snake's head and allows you to "milk" it from a safe distance with some kind of contraption attached to a pole??
How do you feed the snake afterwards?
@@Bipedalduck idk. Release it from the contraption? I'm just saying, we have such advanced technology, but here people are risking their lives by doing something so dangerous by hand
PETA would probably come after you, saying it was cruel.
You have just identified a very good business opportunity.
What the hell, the horse thing is absolutely interesting.. Didnt know they where part of this program.. you learn something new somedays..
My uncle was snakebit as a child and almost died. Took him weeks to recover. I live in an area with four species that could kill me. I have been bit once and it was not fun
I'm surprised he doesn't wear a suit or anything going into that room. I'd be terrified!
Seriously what they do is so brilliant..save so many lives in tropical settings❤
Nice content about snake antivenom
Why don’t they use a protective suit. Instead of lab coats? 🤷🏽♂️
Most dangerous job on earth. Risky work. But very valuable job work. Nice video
The most interesting video I've seen tonight!
Thats one chill snake
So $10 to $30 million to setup a anti-venom facility - so basically NOTHING AT ALL. Disgusting that there aren't DOZENS of these if they are that cheap.
Do you have 10 to 30 million dollars to spare? Issue is not the money, it is the willingness to spend it on this and the inability of the target market to pay
We await the opening of your facilities monsieur.
That’s just to open the facility. That doesn’t include getting the venomous snakes and hiring the right people to take and milk the snakes. Which bear in mind aren’t that many.
@@KhanMann66Solution: robots
I'd get chills just by being in that room. 🙏 The snakes were like paid actors 😅
I still love the danger noodels
THUMBS UP TO THEM FOR WHAT THEY DOING FOR HUMANITY
Good job ❤❤🎉🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪
Looking forward to seeing more of that Toxicologist from Netherlands if you get my drift
I pray 🙏 that tables comes soon !! Huge blessing for human life
Someone really needs to check in on Billy at least once every 3 months. His job is very interesting.
Very careful picking up, putting down he just lets it go and jerks his hand away real quick
Not much venom left to give. Probably wouldn’t be a deadly bite at that point
I believe snake became weak after milking
Billy the goat 🐐
Hero! No cap
Amazing work man, nice job! Just out of curiosity why don’t you guys use tongs to restrain the snakes head?
I have a swollen hand from carpal tunnel syndrome and watching made it hurt more
Billy you had me sweating bro
Bro I can’t even watch this. It gives me the Willie’s everytime he picks the snake up.
Those poor horses! Surely that is a painful injection! And to add ins, they can’t even swat the itchy flies because their tails are cut.
Its very obvious the snake is used to this and isn't struggling at all. Cool job
Excellent 👍👍
this man lives every day like it's his last
Crazy how Billy is just casually milking these snakes of their venom without no gloves or protective gear like one bite wouldn't kill him.
Is expired venom lethal ?
No idea but I do know that expired antivenin is typically still effective, for a while in the US there was no new coral snake antivenin being produced so for the exceptionally rare cases of coral snake bites they had to use expired antivenin which was just fine. Don't remember where I heard this so take it with a grain of salt but I've heard that even after decades of being "expired" antivenin can still be effective
King cobra eats snakes and either does not bite humans or will bite dry (no venom injected). That's the best venomous snake I can imagine.
Wow who knew horses were this valuable....
After a deadly snake has been milked, what would happen if he was bitten AFTER he had milked the snake?
I assume their would still be trace amounts of venom that would still be incredibly deadly. But since the venom glands had just been emptied I assume you wouldn’t get as big of a dose as you would if the venom hadn’t been extracted already.
Just curious…
Since so little venom is needed he'd still be in a lot of trouble.
@chriscampbell3417 With a majority of venomous snake you might be okay with a dry bite or a minimal amount of venom, but this guy is working with inland taipans and their venom is lethal even in quantities as small as 1-1.1 mL, so I’d say it’s one of those snakes you might still die even if it’s a mostly dry bite. This guy not only freehandles them, his housing for the snakes is a huge improvement over the drawer & rack system I’ve seen far too often. I hope this guy doesn’t die from a snake bite because the world needs more snake handlers and keepers like him.
If it's a billion dollar industry how come reptile keepers get paid such a tiny amount of money for venom ?
Hopefully synthetic anti-venom will become a reality one day.
Ideally, in a shelf stable auto-injector like the Epipen.
Can anyone identify the end credits song on this?
I believe snake venom is still cheaper than printer ink 😂
milking snakes is the most Australian sounding job ever
"Millions of people bit by venomous snakes a year" 😮 Really millions?
@vijay20 it surprised me as I'm assuming it surprised many others because there is a fairly large number of people that just don't live in areas where venomous snakes are even common so it's something we don't typically think about..
Billy’s like “We don’t need naur PPE for the milking, mate!”
How much venom do you want?
YES!
😂
In Brazil we have a huge public intitution called Instituto Butantã. It produces antivenons .
just imagine snakes having wings or legs😢😢
My grandmpther died due to a snakebite when my mother was 2 years old. Snake bites are very common in India and these efforts to bring a tablet could save a lot of lives.
It's nice that the creation of lab-based antivenom was touched on, as the horse-based antivenom industry has had such a bad history. Hundreds of years of pumping horses full of venom for their whole lives, just to be bled to death once their bodies can't handle it anymore. New steps like these reinventions need to be taken
Mr. Bittenbinder has the potential if successful to becoming very wealthy and also very famous for developing a universal
and inexpensive tablet for snake bite victims... Lets hope he succeeds!
Ohh Each drop is like kiss from the Grim Reaper
Thanks horses
Is Mátyás Bittenbinder a second generation Hungarian in The Netherlands? Big props to him.
No surprise this is coming out of Australia
4:34 what do you mean no worries? I'm living in one of the tallest building in our city far from the jungle and for sure such creatures yet here I am experiencing too much paranoia.
Salute to you brothers. May god bless you in both the worlds. Aameen
Saving a life is like saving humanity.
Killing an innocent is like killing the humanity.
I want to try.
I'll die within a day for clumsiness working there
5:17: forbidden banana milkshake
yesss snake video
That auzzie's insurance premiums must be astronomical
OH NO 🐍 🐍
I was worried this was going to be like the Ride the Snake: the Cobra Venom Con episode of Ridiculous Crime from the title. Thankfully it was just about antivenom.
Many died in our local here in Mindanao Philippines recently. The intense heat wave made them out of their hives. There are lots of king cobra's in mountains , farm fields.
Crystallized product ? What happens if u snort it 🤔👌🏼
Synthesizing it is one way but also you could produce snakes that are not venomous you could use hybrid to produce snakes that will have offspring that are not venomous
1:22 When your own mother thinks you are a Lunatic... She's probably right...