By being bitten 200 times by snakes, he could inspire a universal antivenin – Liberation

Jeopardize your own life to save thousands of others. The characteristic of great men, but Tim Friede is not a hero like the others. In recent years, this American voluntarily let the hundreds of times bite by snakesoften among the most poisonous in the world. Today, scientists study his blood in the hope of creating a more effective treatment to treat snake bites.

In a study published this Friday, May 2 in the American scientific journal CellPeter Kwong, a recognized immunologist from Columbia University, and his collaborators, decipher what they were able to do with the unique blood of Tim Friede. They identified two antibodies that neutralize the venom of many species of snakes. With ultimately the hope of producing an antivenin which could offer wide protection in humans, and not treatment for each species.

Tim Friede is a self -taught herpetologist, long fascinated by reptiles and other poisonous species. His strange hobby dates back to the early 2000s, reports the New York Times This Saturday: extract the venom of Scorpions, spiders in his house in Wisconsin, where he kept dozens of snakes in captivity to study them.

One day, he begins to self-administer venom diluted at low doses with the hope of creating immunity in case he is accidentally bitten. For almost twenty years, it injects more than 800 increasing doses of venom from the most deadly snakes in the world: Cobras, Black Mambas, Crotales …

When the immune system is exposed to snake venom toxins, it develops antibodies capable of neutralizing the poison. If it is a small amount of venom, the body can react before being overwhelmed. And if it is a venom that the organization has already seen, it can react more quickly and face larger exhibition thresholds.

By scrupulously respecting this process, Friede was able to resist multiple injections. He also allowed himself to be biting 202 times. In videos published on his YouTube channel, he films himself in his workshop being bitten by a taïpan, or a black Mamba.

« At first it was very scary »recognized Friede at the American agency Associated Press. « But the more we do it, the more you improve, the more calm you become. » The man still experienced some misadventures: after a bad bite, he had to cut himself with part of the finger. Some particularly unpleasant cobra bites have also led him to the hospital.

Realizing that his prowess could interest the scientific community, he sent an email to several specialists, explaining his approach to them and asking them to study the tolerance he has developed over the years. One of them, Peter Kwong, intrigued by his story, began to collaborate with Friede.

Despite the study published in Cell And piloted by Kwong, research is still only in their early days. The antivenin has only been tested on mice, and it will still take several years for the researchers to test man. Especially since the treatment, experimental, may be promising against the group of snakes including the Mambas and the Cobras, it has not yet proven itself against the family of vipers, which include extremely poisonous snakes like crotals.

The fact remains that the progress remains major, and carrying hope: according to the World Health Organization, around 110,000 people die each year from a snake bite. There fingeringmost often created by injecting venom to mammals such as horses and by collecting the antibodies they produce, is costly and effective only against species of specific snakes. And can sometimes cause bad reactions due to their non -human origin.

Today, Tim Friede collaborates with Centivax, a company that is trying to develop treatment and which has contributed to the financing of the study. If he is delighted that his story can one day save lives, he insists with those who would be tempted to reproduce his process at home: « Don’t do it. » Not sure that many people have the intention of imitating it anyway.