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Antivenom Safety and Tolerance for the Strategy of Snake Envenomation Management

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Snake Venoms

Part of the book series: Toxinology ((TOXI))

Abstract

Discovered 120 years ago, passive immunotherapy remains the sole etiological treatment of envenomations, particularly those caused by snakes and scorpions. Antivenoms are composed of immunoglobulins produced by animals immunized against certain venoms. Improvement of antivenoms, most notably by advances in the methods used for immunoglobulin purification, enzymatic digestion, and fractionation, has allowed a considerable reduction of adverse effects while maintaining antivenom efficacy. This has expanded antivenom indication, particularly for children and pregnant women to limit the risks of complications due to venom action.

However, antivenom accessibility remains the main obstacle to widespread use; antivenoms are still very expensive and very poorly distributed in high-risk areas. A special effort is required of health authorities, producers, and distributors of antivenoms as well as treating physicians and even patients to alleviate the absence of antivenoms where they are most useful – rural health centers – to increase their use and reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by envenomations.

The authors describe the desired properties of antivenoms as tools of public health (efficacy, tolerability, stability, and accessibility, particularly economic), explore the difficulties that still plague their use, and suggest some steps to improve accessibility.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Research for Development (IRD – UMR 216 “Mother and Child Facing Tropical Diseases”), 08 BP 841, Cotonou, Bénin

    J. P. Chippaux

  2. Faculté de Pharmacie, University Paris Descartes, Sorbonne Paris Cité, Cotonou, France

    J. P. Chippaux

  3. Center for the Study and Research of Malaria Associated with Pregnancy and Childhood (Cerpage), Cotonou, Benin

    J. P. Chippaux & A. Massougbodji

  4. Institute of Biotechnology, National Autonomous University of Mexico (IBt-UNAM), Cuernavaca, Mexico

    R. P. Stock

Authors
  1. J. P. Chippaux
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  2. R. P. Stock
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  3. A. Massougbodji
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Correspondence to J. P. Chippaux .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Biomedical Research Institute National Institute of Advanced Industria, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

    Hidetoshi Inagaki

  2. University of Hawaii Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

    Carl-Wilhelm Vogel

  3. Department of Molecular Biology and Biot, Tezpur University, Tezpur, Assam, India

    Ashis K. Mukherjee

  4. Egyptian Society of Natural Toxins and Z, Faculty of Science Suez Canal University, Ismailia, Egypt

    Tarek R. Rahmy

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Chippaux, J.P., Stock, R.P., Massougbodji, A. (2017). Antivenom Safety and Tolerance for the Strategy of Snake Envenomation Management. In: Inagaki, H., Vogel, CW., Mukherjee, A., Rahmy, T. (eds) Snake Venoms. Toxinology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6410-1_25

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