Anti - Venom Against Deadly Snake Bites Coming

A new anti-venom to treat victims of potentially deadly snake bites in sub-Saharan Africa is just a few years away from reality, according to scientists at the Liverpool school of Tropical Medicine (LSTM). They aim to create a potent new anti-venom that can be stored safely at room temperature, without the need for refrigerator. Dr. Robert Harrison is leading the research at LSTM’s Alistair Reid Venom Research Unit, where he has collected 21 species-450 animals in total- of sub-Saharan Africa’s most deadly snakes. Harrison and his team have been extracting venom from the reptiles, using a process known as ‘milking’, to concoct a new anti-venom that he hopes will prevent the deaths and severe injuries of snake bite victims. Anti-venom are made by first ‘milking’ the venom from a snake before injecting it in low doses into a horse or sheep. The animal doesn’t become ill, but the venom induces an immune response that produces anti- bodies in the animal. These anti-bodies are then extracted from the animal’s blood to create anti-venom. In rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa where people are exposed to various species of deadly snakes, the current treatment involves a broad-spectrum anti-venom to cover all the snake species that could be responsible. But the current method for producing anti- venom means the animals make only a small amount of anti-body to any one species; resulting in a weak anti-venom. Patients are therefore having to be treated with multiple vials; carrying an increased risk of side effects and making the treatment largely unaffordable to rural subsistence farmers. According to the UK’s Medical Research Council, a single vial of the most effective broad-spectrum anti-venom currently costs about $140 USD per vial, and because several vials are needed to achieve a cure it can cost over $500 USD per treatment; an insurmountable cost for people who often earn less than $1 USD a day. However, the research team at LSTM plans to vastly improve the potency of broad-spectrum anti-venom using an innovative new technique they have dubbed ‘antivenomics’, which targets unique proteins in a particular snake species’ venom. This, they say, will significantly expand the effectiveness of the anti-venom to cover all the poisonous snakes of sub-Saharan Africa. The anti-venom will be manufactured using a more cost-effective system developed in Costa Rica, reducing cost by up to three quarters and making it more affordable to rural African communities. The current need for anti-venoms to be refrigerated throughout their manufacture and storage is a further limitation that they hope to overcome. Harrison’s team plans to test a series of special molecules added to the anti-venom during creation to increase its stability at ambient temperatures, with the aim of it still being effective after at least a year stored at room temperature.