Sydney: A team of scientists from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica and the UK has discovered that a common blood thinner can also be used as an instant antidote to cobra venom.
About 138,000 people die from snake bites annually. The number of these individuals is highest in Africa, South and Southeast Asia, and low- and middle-income countries.
In parts of Africa and India, cobras bite humans the most, but new research has found that their venom can be neutralized by the blood-thinning drug heparin.
Although the drug is not effective against all snake venoms, scientists say it could be a cheaper and more effective treatment than existing antivenoms.
