ANTI- VENOMOUS SERUM 137 



The serum now supplied by Dr. Calmette from the 

 Pasteur Institute of Lille is active to the extent of 1 to 

 200,000, that is to say, it is sufficient to inject as a prophy- 

 lactic dose a quantity of serum into a rabbit equal to 

 ^^1^^ of its body weight. 0-5 c.c. of this serum is 

 sufficiently active to protect a rabbit against a dose of 

 venom, which otherwise would be lethal in three or four 

 hours, if it is not injected later than half an hour after the 

 bite. The usual dose of the antivenomous serum for a 

 human being is about 10 c.c, and in order to insure success 

 it must be injected as soon after the bite as is practicable. 



A large number of cases have been reported from India 

 and other places of the successful treatment of human 

 beings suffering from snake bites by means of this 

 antivenomous serum. 



It has been asserted that small doses of cobra venom 

 would immunise animals against all other snake poisons of 

 whatever sort. Dr. Kanthack has recently investigated this 

 matter and reports that there is some reason to believe that 

 cobra antivenomous serum may be capable of neutralising 

 the poison of many kinds of venomous snakes, for the reason 

 that the physiological action of the poisons of these other 

 snakes is the same as, or not greatly different from, that of 

 cobra poison. On the other hand, there are certain 

 venomous snakes whose poison has a different physiological 

 action to that of the cobra, and recorded experiments do 

 not support the view that cobra antivenomous serum will 

 neutralise the poison from these varieties. Dr. Kanthack 

 also records experiments which tend to disprove the state- 

 ment that chlorinated lime solution prevents the absorption 

 of the snake poison within the animal body. 



