January 7, 2003	Tuesday	Ziqa’ad 3, 1423

NEW DELHI: Indian scientists said on Monday they would soon be able to use chicken eggs to treat snake bites.

“The new method involves taking antibodies from chicken eggs which are concentrated in the egg yolk to produce antivenom,” said P.V. Subba Rao, scientific director of the Vittal Mallya Scientific Research Foundation (VMSRF) in Bangalore.

Scientists at VMSRF have spent three years researching the chicken antivenom, which they said was cost-effective and free of side effects.

“Once we complete the chronic toxic study, we will be the first in the world to inject chicken antibodies into human beings,” Rao said, noting that so far chicken antibodies had only been administered orally. He said tests to check antibodies for any viral or bacterial toxin would be completed by next year.

Anti-venom had been extracted from horses but was a very painful process that produced heavy bleeding in the animals, which sparked protests by animal rights advocates.—AFP