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BBC News
03-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'Unparalleled' snake antivenom made from man bitten 200 times
The blood of a US man who deliberately injected himself with snake venom for nearly two decades has led to an "unparalleled" antivenom, say found in Tim Friede's blood have been shown to protect against fatal doses from a wide range of species in animal tests. Current therapies have to match the specific species of venomous snake anyone has been bitten Mr Friede's 18-year mission could be a significant step in finding a universal antivenom against all snakebites - which kill up to 14,000 people a year and leave three times as many needing amputations or facing permanent disability. In total, Mr Friede has endured more than 200 bites and more than 700 injections of venom he prepared from some of the world's deadliest snakes, including multiple species of mambas, cobras, taipans and initially wanted to build up his immunity to protect himself when handling snakes, documenting his exploits on the former truck mechanic said that he had "completely screwed up" early on when two cobra bites in quick succession left him in a coma. "I didn't want to die. I didn't want to lose a finger. I didn't want to miss work," he told the Friede's motivation was to develop better therapies for the rest of the world, explaining: "It just became a lifestyle and I just kept pushing and pushing and pushing as hard as I could push - for the people who are 8,000 miles away from me who die from snakebite". 'I'd love to get my hands on some of your blood' Antivenom is currently made by injecting small doses of snake venom into animals, such as horses. Their immune system fights the venom by producing antibodies and these are harvested to be used as a venom and antivenom have to be closely matched because the toxins in a venomous bite vary from one species to another. There is even wide variety within the same species – antivenom made from snakes in India is less effective against the same species in Sri Lanka. A team of researchers began searching for a type of immune defence called broadly neutralising antibodies. Instead of targeting the part of a toxin that makes it unique, they target the parts that are common to entire classes of when Dr Jacob Glanville, chief executive of biotech company Centivax, came across Tim Friede."Immediately I was like 'if anybody in the world has developed these broadly neutralising antibodies, it's going to be him' and so I reached out," he said."The first call, I was like 'this might be awkward, but I'd love to get my hands on some of your blood'."Mr Friede agreed and the work was given ethical approval because the study would only take blood, rather than giving him more venom. The research focused on elapids – one of the two families of venomous snakes – such as coral snakes, mambas, cobras, taipans and primarily use neurotoxins in their venom, which paralyses their victim and is fatal when it stops the muscles needed to picked 19 elapids identified by the World Health Organization as being among the deadliest snakes on the planet. They then began scouring Mr Friede's blood for protective work, detailed in the journal Cell, identified two broadly neutralising antibodies that could target two classes of neurotoxin. They added in a drug that targets a third to make their antivenom experiments on mice, the cocktail meant the animals survived fatal doses from 13 of the 19 species of venomous snake. They had partial protection against the remaining is "unparalleled" breadth of protection, according to Dr Glanville, who said it "likely covers a whole bunch of elapids for which there is no current antivenom". The team is trying to refine the antibodies further and see if adding a fourth component could lead to total protection against elapid snake other class of snake – the vipers – rely more on haemotoxins, which attack the blood, rather than neurotoxins. In total there are around a dozen broad classes of toxin in snake venom, which also includes cytotoxins that directly kill cells."I think in the next 10 or 15 years we'll have something effective against each one of those toxin classes," said Prof Peter Kwong, one of the researchers at Columbia the hunt continues inside Mr Friede's blood samples."Tim's antibodies are really quite extraordinary - he taught his immune system to get this very, very broad recognition," said Prof ultimate hope is to have either a single antivenom that can do everything, or one injection for elapids and one for Nick Casewell, who is the head of the centre for snakebite research and interventions at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, said the breadth of protection reported was "certainly novel" and provided "a strong piece of evidence" that this was a feasible approach."There is no doubt that this work moves the field forwards in an exciting direction."But he cautioned there was "much work to do" and that the antivenom still needed extensive testing before it could be used in for Mr Friede, reaching this stage "makes me feel good"."I'm doing something good for humanity and that was very important to me. I'm proud of it. It's pretty cool."
BBC News
23-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Thousands take to the streets for Reading half marathon
About 7,500 runners are taking part in the Reading half marathon, according to the organisers.18-year-old Team GB Biathle champion Carys Westcott officially started the Green Park Challenge fun run at 08:30 GMT, ahead of the main closures were put in place along the route from 07:00 and will be lifted later in the 13.1-mile (21km) race route takes runners through Whitley, the centre of Reading and the university campus, before finishing at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. Matt Wise has previously run two half marathons and took part in the Green Park Challenge with his daughter Lyla, who said she had been training "hard" and wanted to complete the race in 20 minutes."I have done cross country a few times and I'm part of a running club at school," she told the Wise said: "It's really good conditions today for running."Towards the end, you get a second wind when running the half marathon and the crowds of people cheering you on at the end definitely helps." Berkshire Healthcare Charity, which supports community mental health teams, has 15 people running in the half marathon to raise manager Jo Ramsey said: "One of our runners, Karen Jacobs, is running today and will be running the London half marathon for us so this is a practice run for her."Hopefully, this will be a walk in the park."Sir John Madejski, at the half marathon start line to set the runners off, said it was "fantastic" to be back again and "kicking things off". He said: "It is a wonderful day for it, just perfect conditions, not too hot, not too cold, no wind or rain, just absolutely perfect."I think everyone gets a thrill out of running the Reading half marathon, especially at the end when they come into the stadium with all the applause."It's just fantastic, I think it's one of the best half marathons in the country due to that brilliant finishing line."The best thing about the race, he said, was that it "gets everybody outside into the fresh air, motivated and they get this feel good factor". Vicky Maunder from Reading charity Daisy's Dream has a stand near the finish line which she said was "full of lots of bananas, water and a good bags for when our runners come in".The charity provides support for children and young people who have been affected by Maunder said: "It is our first year partnering with Reading half marathon and really exciting."This year, we have more than 20 runners, so it's amazing for us." You can follow BBC Berkshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
18-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Bangladesh girls forced to cancel football amid Islamist threats
Asha Roy, 17, was excited to take part in a women's football tournament, but her hopes were dashed as Islamists forced the organisers to cancel the match in northern before the game began earlier this month, the Islami Andolan Bangladesh group announced a protest rally against the event in Rangpur region, saying it was trouble, local police stepped in and the women's team members were asked to return to their home for their safety."I was frustrated and frightened. We had never faced such a situation before. It was disappointing that we came back without playing," Ms Roy told the a Muslim-majority nation, is currently undergoing a political transition after widespread protests ousted its authoritarian government last interim administration is currently in charge but there are concerns that Islamist groups, which had been pushed to the fringes, have become emboldened women's football match was the third to be cancelled in northern Bangladesh in less than two weeks due to the objections of religious the Dinajpur area, roughly 70km (43 miles) west of Rangpur, Islamists protesting against a game clashed with locals who supported it, leaving four people injured. Is once-in-a-generation chance lost for Bangladesh's women?Sheikh Hasina: The pro-democracy icon who became an autocrat For girls such as Asha Roy, who come from rural areas, football and other sports are a source of female empowerment and a way out of poverty. Those who shine can be selected to play for sponsored teams and some go on to represent Bangladesh girls have been inspired to take up football thanks to the success of the national women's team, who are considered heroes after winning two consecutive South Asia Football Championships in recent years. Ms Roy's teammate, Musammat Tara Moni, said she would not stop playing despite the threats."It's my dream to represent our national team. My family supports me, so I am not losing hope," the 16-year-old their coach Nurul Islam, the objections came as a surprise. "I have taken the team to many tournaments for the past seven years, but it's the first time we have faced a situation like this," he said. The Islamists insist that the match they stopped was against their religious values and say that they are determined to prevent any future football games."If women want to play football, they should cover their entire body, and they can play only in front of female spectators. Men cannot watch them play," Maulana Ashraf Ali, the leader of the Islami Andolan Bangladesh in the Taraganj area of Rangpur, told the Ali also insisted that the group "definitely" want hard-line Islamic Sharia law in cancellation of the women's football matches caused an uproar on social media, leading the authorities to reorganise one of them. They have also launched an investigation into the incidents but say the fear of radicalism is exaggerated."There is no truth in the allegations that the government is pandering to Islamists," Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to interim leader Muhammad Yunus, told the Alam pointed out that hundreds of women's sports matches were held as part of a national youth festival in January, and that they were played across the country without any people are not reassured. Samina Luthfa, assistant professor of sociology in the University of Dhaka, told the BBC the cancellation of the women's football matches was "definitely alarming"."The women of Bangladesh will not stop playing football and will not stop from going to work or doing their things," she said, adding that "everyone will fight" efforts to remove women from public spaces. Other decisions made by the interim government since it assumed power in August in relation to Islamist extremism have also raised include revoking a ban on the country's largest Islamist party, Jamaat-e-Islami, which was introduced in the last days of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Rahmani, the leader of banned Islamist militant group Ansarullah Bangladesh (ABT) - now known as Ansar al Islam - was released in August after a court granted him bail. He was sentenced to five years in prison in connection with the killing of a secular blogger in 2013, but had been kept behind bars because of other pending to local media reports, several other people accused of having links with extremist groups have also been given bail in the past few months."Though security forces say they will monitor those released, it will be difficult for them to put everybody under surveillance given the limitations," says Dr Tawohidul Haque, a crime analyst from the University of Dhaka. While most Bangladeshis practise moderate Islam and secular values dominate society, Islamic extremism is not a new phenomenon in the country. A decade ago, religious zealots targeted secular bloggers, atheists, minorities, foreigners and others in a spate of attacks - killing dozens and sending others fleeing abroad. In one such incident, a group of Islamist gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka in 2016, killing 20 people. It is not just women's football games that have been targeted recently either. Last week, dozens of Islamist students vandalised a book stall at Dhaka's famous Ekushey Book protesters were angry over the display a book by the exiled feminist author Taslima Nasrin, who has in the past received death threats from Islamist groups for what they say are her blasphemous Yunus condemned the incident saying the attack "shows contempt for both the rights of Bangladeshi citizens and for the laws of our country." The police are one of the country's best-known actors, Pori Moni said she was stopped from inaugurating a department store in the northern town of Tangail after reported objections from religious groups."Now I'm really feeling helpless, as well as insecure. It's part of my job to take part in opening a showroom or a similar event. No one has stopped me all these years," Ms Moni told the BBC Bengali events involving two other actors, Apu Biswas and Mehazabien Chowdhury, have also been cancelled following threats by Islamists. Minority groups like the Sufi Muslims say they are also witnessing increasing attacks on their places of worship. Islamist extremists view Sufism as heretical."About a hundred of our shrines [mazars] and centres have been attacked in the past six months," Anisur Rahman Jafri, Secretary General of the Sufism Universal Foundation, told the BBC."We have not seen this kind of sudden extremist attack on us since the country's independence in 1971," he added, warning that the country was at risk of "Talibanisation" if the situation said only 40 shrines were damaged and that they had stepped up security around religious authorities have also been struggling to maintain law and order in the wake of Sheikh Hasina's departure. Earlier this month, thousands of protesters vandalised homes and buildings connected to Hasina and senior leaders of her Awami League from other groups and parties, including Islamists, joined in other demonstrations in the capital, Dhaka, and across the authorities have defended the security forces for not intervening, saying doing so would have cost lives. Rights groups have expressed concern over the security situation."If the government fails to act, then Islamists are going to feel emboldened. There will be more self-censorship for women and girls, they will be more intimidated participating in public events," Shireen Huq, a prominent women's rights activist, told the BBC."I am still optimistic that this phenomenon will not sustain," she reporting from the BBC Bengali service in Dhaka
BBC News
17-02-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Valproate: Mum's 20-year fight for epilepsy drug compensation
"Who will look after our children when we're no longer here? At the moment that's nobody."Catherine Cox, from Keyworth in Nottinghamshire, was one of thousands of women who took the epilepsy drug, sodium valproate, while pregnant, something which is now advised son Matthew, now 23, was born with a range of conditions, including autism, ADHD, epilepsy and several learning the age of 18 months, he was diagnosed with foetal valproate syndrome, indicating the medication his mother took was the cause of his problems. Mrs Cox has been campaigning for compensation ever since. It is thought thousands of children in the UK have been left with disabilities caused by valproate since the for doctors - and, more recently, patient leaflets - say valproate should not be used during pregnancy unless there is no safer alternative and only after a careful discussion of the undergoing fertility treatment, Mrs Cox was advised it was "fine" to continue taking valproate."To then find out that the medication that you have taken in good faith has caused the problems your child will carry for the whole of their life is an awful thing," she told the Cox has a job at a local bakery but relies heavily on his mother."It can be a struggle at times," he said. "I do worry at times but I also worry about my mum. Obviously I love my mum."Mrs Cox told the BBC she had grown weary of a lack of action from successive governments."We're not getting any younger. I started this when I was 31 - I'm 53 this year," she said."I honestly think that the government want the parents to expire, because the children will not be able to fight for the redress that they need." In February 2024, a report by the Patient Safety Commissioner, Henrietta Hughes, said there was a "clear" and "urgent" need to compensate those harmed by valproate, both financially and Hughes made a series of recommendations, including a specific housing grant for valproate victims, a removal of the barriers many face in getting their special educational needs recognised, and work to issue an apology to each individual than a year has since passed, and the government is still working on a Cox said: "We have pulled various governments over time kicking and screaming to this point where they have acknowledged that the difficulties for up to 20,000 children were caused by this drug."As we go on, what we need is something to make up for their loss of potential." The delays were recently raised at Prime Minister's Questions by Mrs Cox's MP, Labour's James Naish, who represents Keir Starmer responded it was "obviously a really important matter"."We will provide an update on the Patient Safety Commissioner's report at the earliest opportunity to the House," the prime minister said: "We're all working hard. The government has a huge amount on its plate. It's already dealt with big scandals such as the infected blood scandal."We just want to make sure that this is one of those issues as well."Despite two decades of setbacks, Mrs Cox is hoping she will hear some positive news soon."The Labour government were really, really supportive in opposition. Let's see them stand by their word," she said."As a society we are judged by how we treat our most vulnerable and the children affected by valproate are our most vulnerable. They need that help going forward."
