It has been called one of the world's biggest hidden health crises. 

Every year, more than 120,000 people die from snakebites and a further 400,000 people are left with life-changing disabilities. Most of them are from the world's poorest communities in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa where safe, effective treatments are hard to come by. Scientists at the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) are hoping to change this by creating a universal snake antivenom.

CGTN spoke to Robert Harrison, head of the center for snakebite research and intervention who explained how different poisons – such as those produced by spitting cobras or the infamous black mamba work to incapacitate their victims.

Some work by inducing paralysis, while others block the mechanism by which blood clots, leading to death from bleeding.

If you're not squeamish watch the video above to learn more.

As it stands, antivenom is regionally specific to the snake from which it was made – meaning an Indian antivenom would be ineffective for a snakebite victim in Africa, for example. 

But thanks to the researchers at the LSTM, this may soon be a problem of the past. Equipped with a herpetarium housing 100 of the deadliest snakes in the world, these scientists are working on making an antivenom that could work across the world. 

This is being done by genetically engineering the antibodies so they target the symptoms caused by snake bites, rather than specifically targeting their strain of venom.