Snake handler killed.

[ateagleton]

Does this suggest that horses and sheep are natural immune or resistant to snake venom? I know very little about sheep but I’ve never heard that snake bites had no consequences for horses.

No. The vaccine is produced by collecting venom from four species of North American vipers. Eastern and western diamondback rattlesnakes, Mojave rattlesnake, and cottonmouth. This is done with manual extraction at several different facilities in the US. The venom is sent to England where proteins are extracted and purified. The venom is then sent to Australia where sheep are inoculated. Each sheep only receives one type of venom. Small amounts are injected over a period of time until serum antibody levels are high enough. Serum is then collected and sent back to England. The antibodies are then extracted from the serum and then the four different types of venom antibodies are combined to produce the vaccine.

So sheep and horses are not naturally immune but are given low concentrations over a period of time to produce an immunologic response without negative effects.

[ThisLadyHunts]

No. The vaccine is produced by collecting venom from four species of North American vipers. Eastern and western diamondback rattlesnakes, Mojave rattlesnake, and cottonmouth. This is done with manual extraction at several different facilities in the US. The venom is sent to England where proteins are extracted and purified. The venom is then sent to Australia where sheep are inoculated. Each sheep only receives one type of venom. Small amounts are injected over a period of time until serum antibody levels are high enough. Serum is then collected and sent back to England. The antibodies are then extracted from the serum and then the four different types of venom antibodies are combined to produce the vaccine.

So sheep and horses are not naturally immune but are given low concentrations over a period of time to produce an immunologic response without negative effects.

This all makes sense. Thank you for the detailed explanation!


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