COVID vaccine technology could help reduce disabilities in people caused by injuries from snakebites.

Researchers at the University of Reading, England, found that the same mRNA tech used in coronavirus vaccinations could help to prevent muscle damage in snakebite victims and the knock-on impacts that linger even after treatment.

They tested whether this could be used to protect against the damage from the bite of the terciopelo ( Bothrops asper) snake , found in Central and South America, though they hope a future version would protect against multiple venom elements.

The treatment could “significantly” limit the physical harm caused by snakebites, which kill around 140,000 people worldwide and cause 400,000 permanent disabilities each year, according to the researchers.

“Specif

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