Vital Brazil

Who was Vital Brazil?

Vital Brazil Mineiro da Campanha, known as Vital Brazil was a Brazilian physician, biomedical scientist and immunologist, internationally renowned for the discovery of the polyvalent anti-ophidic serum used to treat bites of venomous snakes of the Crotalus, Bothrops and Elaps genera. He went on to be also the first to develop anti-scorpion and anti-spider serums. He was the founder of the Butantan Institute, a research center located in São Paulo, which was the first in the world dedicated exclusively to basic and applied toxicology, the science of venomous animals.