Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A recent article posted by link on this site said:

"...Snake venoms contain properties that affect nerve growth, and some components of the poisons appear to have an anti-viral effect. Scientists are still baffled as to why this should be so...".

Does anyone know where the source material was for the "anti-viral" effect and does anyone have a good link to layman level papers on research done on venom medicinal qualities. I have two pieces of anecdotal evidence of people who inject venom not getting sick... Are the two probably unrelated or does there appear to be a connection between self-innoculation and health?
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Amor et Lux,
Ron

"The gods tolerate the human race for no other reason than our talent for bullsh1t. It's the only thing about us that doesn't bore them to tears" Tom Robbins "Villa Incognito"

Bill Haast has reported to not being sick a day since he started innoculating...we're talking around 60 years here...pretty impressive.

AP

that quote was from an article about pentapharm. Most research concerning anti-viral qualities of snake venom is basic science research, not clinical research. Showing anti-viral activity in the laboratory does not necessarily translate to something clinically useful. So although there might be potential clinical interest, it has not been studied in people yet. Interestingly, there is some evidence that Crotalus durissus terrificus venom has anti-Measles virus properties, but again, this has only been shown in the laboratory. There's a few technical papers out there on these topics, but nothing laymen.