Instituto Butantan, Research institute in São Paulo, Brazil.
The Butantan Institute includes several laboratory buildings, a large park, and research spaces spread across a wide campus in São Paulo. The site combines working areas with publicly accessible museums and outdoor enclosures.
Physician Vital Brazil founded the facility in 1901 to develop antiserum against bubonic plague, which had broken out in the port of Santos at that time. The institute later expanded its work to other infectious diseases and the production of antivenoms.
The name derives from a Tupi term for a prominent landform at the institute's location. Visitors watch scientists at work and see live specimens of different reptiles in the research facilities.
The campus is best explored on foot, as the paths between different museums and research areas cover several hundred meters. On hot days, early morning hours are advisable for a tour.
The facility is the largest producer of snake antivenom in the southern hemisphere and keeps thousands of venomous snakes in cages and terrariums. The extracted antiserums treat poisonings from scorpions, spiders, and different snake species.
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