Pick Your Antipoison
Researchers work to make antivenom safer, cheaper, and more effective
On a warm, sunny afternoon last June, emergency room physician Sean Bush got a call on his pager that made his blood run cold. The number was his wife’s, followed by three digits: 9-1-1. Whatever the page concerned, Bush knew that it was a serious emergency—he and his wife don’t take those numbers lightly.
A quick call from the hospital where he was on duty to his home 22 miles away brought terrifying news. Through panicked tears, Bush’s wife related that a small rattlesnake had just bitten the couple’s 2-year-old son, Jude, as he played with another child in the couple’s backyard. When the curious boy had reached down to pick up the snake, the reptile sank its fangs between Jude’s right thumb and forefinger.