According to the World Health Organizations, 83,000-138,000 die annually from snake bites. The numbers are hard to estimate due to the fact that medical care is not easily available in third world countries and the access to things like antivenom is even rarer. The scientists at Clodomiro Picado Institute are working to increase the availability of antivenom worldwide using horse serum, a fairly common practice.

The institute produces 100,000 to 150,000 doses per year, which are exported to Central America, South America, Asia and Africa.

"It has been taken…also to strengthen clinical studies that attest that the product is safe and effective, this strengthens the idea that the product saves lives, which is what we want. We could talk about [approximately] 5,000 lives that are saved with this serum," said Andrés Hernández, pharmaceutical manager of the Clodomiro Picado Institute.

Antivenom is administered to patients who have suffered a bite from a poisonous snake and works by boosting our immune response.

One small group of scientists making a change in the world for the 5.4 million people who are bitten by venomous snakes. To read the full article and see the video, click here.