Abstract
Since the pioneer work of Calmette (1894) and Fraser (1895) it has been generally assumed that specific antivenene is the most effective treatment available for snake bite. Many reports claim support for this assumption, but to the critical mind the impressions and conclusions are vitiated by the many variables in human snake-bite poisoning. In Malaya the most common cause of snake bite is the pit viper, Ancistrodon rhodostoma (Boie). In 1958 a limited supply of specific A. rhodostoma antivenene became avail able for the first time in Malaya. Since the number of .4. rhodostoma victims was much too high (Reid, Thean, and Martin, 1963) to allow each subject this specific antiserum, it was thought ethical to use the limited supply in controlled clinical trials.
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