Antitoxins and antivenins
What are Antitoxins and antivenins?
Antitoxins are used to treat or prevent diseases such as tetanus, which is caused by biological toxins. Antivenom is produced by injecting a small (safe) amount of that particular venom into an animal and once that animal makes antibodies against the venom, the blood is drawn, purified and used to treat bites, etc.
an antiserum (= a substance made from blood) that contains antibodies (= proteins produced to fight disease) against a particular poison, especially one found in the bite of a snake, spider, or other animal: Without antivenin, a coral snake bite victim will go into respiratory arrest.
Antitoxin (toxin-neutralizing antibody) is produced from horses by injections of formaldehyde-inactivated DT, like that used in the human vaccine. Antitoxin was first used to treat diphtheria in 1891 and has a clinical efficacy of 97%.
List of Antitoxins and antivenins
