Clodomiro Picado Twight [Clorito Picado]

"The scientific study of venomous snakes and their venoms in Costa Rica started with the pioneering work of Clodomiro Picado Twight (1887–1944), during the first decades of the 20th century. Picado, a talented person interested in natural history, was awarded a scholarship to perform advanced studies at La Sorbonne, from 1908 to 1913. During his last year in France, he also received training in Medical Microbiology at Institut Pasteur. Upon his return to Costa Rica, Picado was appointed Director of the Clinical Laboratory of Hospital San Juan de Dios, at that time the main health center in the country. In addition to introducing modern methods for laboratory diagnosis, which represented a leap forward in the medical practice in the country, he established an ambitious research program which covered a wide array of topics, including Medical Microbiology, Immunology, Experimental Pathophysiology, Clinical Chemistry, Hematology, Therapeutics, Phytopathology, and General Biology (Gutiérrez, 1986)

One of the subjects that captured the attention of Picado was the problem of snakebite envenoming, which was then, as it is now, a serious public health hazard in the country. Taking an integrated approach to the subject, he developed a serpentarium at the hospital, collected venoms, and studied a variety of aspects including the biology of snakes, the toxicology of venoms, and the therapy of envenomings. His contributions in the field of Toxinology are summarized in the book Serpientes Venenosas de Costa Rica. Sus Venenos. Seroterapia Antiofídica (Picado, 1931). It may be said that Picado introduced in Costa Rica what is currently known as ‘translational research’, since he went from the laboratory studies to the implementation of practical solutions to the problem. Being aware of the developments that had taken place since 1901 in Brazil, associated with the production of the first antivenoms in Latin America, at Instituto Butantan, under the leadership of Vital Brazil Mineiro da Campanha (Brazil, 1911), Picado hypothesized that the similarities between the venoms of Brazilian and Costa Rican viperid snakes could imply that antivenoms manufactured in Brazil would be effective in Costa Rica. Through an agreement with Instituto Butantan, Brazilian antivenoms were imported to Costa Rica, and used in the treatment of patients. The success of this approach initiated the modern era of snakebite envenoming therapy in Central America (Picado, 1931).

In addition to scientific research and the introduction of antivenoms, Picado also worked in the political front, promoting, in association with the Minister of Health of Costa Rica, Solón Núñez Frutos, a unique and highly progressive legislation that, among other issues, implemented the use of antivenoms in the country, the access of this therapy in rural settings, and the obligation of land owners to keep a stock of antivenom in case their workers suffered a snakebite (Picado, 1931; Gutiérrez, 2010).

The legacy of Clodomiro Picado germinated in the 1960s as an interinstitutional ambitious project known as Programa de Sueros Antiofídicos (Program for Antivenoms). This effort, jointly promoted by the Ministry of Health, the University of Costa Rica and the Embassy of the United States of America in Costa Rica, was aimed at initiating the local production of antivenoms (Gutiérrez, 2010). It was developed in the context of a profound transformation of the public health institutions in Costa Rica, as part of the social-democratic project that dominated the political landscape of the country in those years (Jaramillo, 1993). Under the leadership of Róger Bolaños (1931–2007) (Fig. 1) and Herschel H. Flowers, the program succeeded in producing the first batches of polyvalent and anticoral antivenoms in 1967 (see Gutiérrez (2010) for a detailed account of the origins and goals of the project).

The success of this initiative led to the creation of Instituto Clodomiro Picado." [source]