possum serum, anyone?

[Terry D]

Hi all, A friend forwarded this to me today:

http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=s0104-79301999000100005&script=sci_arttext

Interesting stuff.

Terry

 

[Risky]

Interesting indeed. I had no idea that opossums had that toxin neutralizing factor. And who knew they used horses for producing antivenom??

 

[pitbulllady]

It makes sense when you think about it, given what possums eat, and the fact that they can survive a mauling from another animal, gunshot wounds, etc., without apparent ill effect. Possums just do not appear to get sick; wounds that would soon become septic and deadly in other animals don't seem to bother them and heal rapidly. Same with a lot of crocodilians, and honestly, I'd have to give serious consideration as to which I'd rather work with if I was a medical researcher, lol. A benefit of possums, I guess, is their small size and ready availability, but that same small size is a drawback, too, because one possum can't produce but so much serum. That's why Crofab, the currently used N. American pit viper antivenin, is more expensive than the older horse serum, because it's made from sheep, and sheep don't have anywhere near the serum yield of a horse. BUT, sheep serum is less likely to produce a dangerous allergic reaction in patients. I guess it will wait to be seen how well possum serum performs in humans, its efficacy and its safety.

pitbulllady