Team:DTU-Denmark

Snakebite Detectives

iGEM 2017

The most neglected tropical disease

What is the problem

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Where is the problem

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Project description

Envenomation by snakebite is one of the most neglected diseases with an estimated 5 million bites each year. These result in about 100,000 deaths and 400,000 disabilities annually. The only effective treatment is animal derived antivenoms, which frequently causes adverse reactions. As a result they are often only administered as a last resort.

We aim to develop a detection-assay that enables us to determine what type of snake a snake bite patient is envenomed by. The strategy is to target distinguishable enzymatic features in the different snake venoms by developing suitable substrate-based diagnostic. We hope our diagnostic tool can be useful in identifying the relative composition of specific venom components in a blood sample and thereby allow for the safest course of treatment. See our Project Description