AFRANIO DO AM ARAL 1077 



act the bite of such snakes as the Neotropic rattler, the cobra, the tiger snake, and 

 the "fer-de-lance," because their venom is very toxic for the tissues of animals. 

 Finally, since the toxicity of the venom is inversely proportional to the body weight, 

 it is recommended that two or three times as much antivenin be given to a child as to 

 an adult. 



By properly applying serum therapy, the death rate from snake bites, which is 

 very high in certain countries, can be considerably reduced. In Brazil, where some 

 twenty years ago the number of persons who died from snake bites every year was 

 estimated to be about five thousand, the increasing use of antivenins has contributed 

 to a material reduction of this figure. In this country where, for the last year, the 

 Antivenin Institute of America has been working with a view to eliminating all cases 

 of death from snake bite, the first results have also been very encouraging. 



