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Program #4273 of the Earth & Sky Radio Series with hosts Deborah Byrd and Joel Block download Help Photo courtesy of Herbert Kajiura. Bill Haast is Director of the Miami Serpentarium. He said that regular injections of venom from rattlesnakes, cobras, mambas, and vipers are what have kept him alive. Bill Haast produces snake venom, which is used in the process of making lifesaving antivenins. He gets the venom by “milking” poisonous snakes, causing them to release their venom into a beaker. In nearly 60 years, he said he estimates he’s handled three million poisonous snakes. But snakebites happen. So, years ago, Haast began trying to build his own immunity. Bill Haast: I started off in 1948 taking minute injections of cobra venom, and slowly increased it until I was taking a full lethal dose, and I still do. As a matter of fact, I had an injection this morning. Haast said he’s been bitten 173 times by venomous snakes. He says the injections have probably saved his life. Haast turned 95 in 2006. By the way, most antivenins are too chemically complex to be synthesized in a laboratory. Antivenin is made by exposing an animal – such as a horse – to small amounts of snake venom. Its immune system fights back by creating antibodies that attack the venom. The researchers then remove some of the animal’s blood and separate out the protective antibodies. |
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