KEY POINTS A Wisconsin man loves venomous snakes but wanted to protect himself from venom. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that between 7,000 and 8,000 people are bitten by venomous snakes in the U.S. alone. People bitten by other venomous snakes can lose fingers or toes or the ability to use them, among other injuries. The focus is on use of the same toxin-blocking proteins snakes use to protect themselves. Those blood proteins are called FETUA proteins and are numbered.