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Antivenom Banks
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by asud on February 3, 2009
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Anyone have a list of reputable--ie, not just carrying outdated vials for naja naja!--antivenom supplies/administrators (banks, clinics, etc.) in Africa?
Also, anyone here have experience on the production side, administering a regiment of injections to horses or sheep?
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RE: Antivenom Banks
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by asud on February 3, 2009
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Oops. I should've been clearer on that. My concerns are twofold:
1.) Regarding Africa, my hobby is traveling to see venomous snakes in their natural environs. Sometimes I write a bit about these travels for friends. I've done this quite a bit in the US and India, both of which have sufficient infrastructure (albeit in very, very different ways) that one could get to treatment with relative ease. (By ease I don't mean to suggest that getting bit is any light matter either for the field herper or for the numerous individuals impacted down the line when a bite victim has to borrow/deplete their antivenom supply.) That said, it's likely one can reach help.
My impression from my first trip to Africa--what with the awful roads, the distances, sparser population and language difficulties (to name just a few speed bumps)--is that properly administered antivenom is far harder to come by. I was sometimes quite jumpy herping at night in the rainforest thinking that if I had a problem an airlift to Europe (a logistical nightmare, especially with the clock ticking so to speak) might be my best option. Hence, I'd love to know if there's a database or individual I might turn to for a good list of treatment centers on the continent.
2.) Regarding antivenom: well, while most of us on this site will never need it, it is an incredibly important thing for all of us, knowing we have a bit of a safety net out there. And while it's easy to take it for granted, I'm quite fascinated by the nitty gritty of how we get antivenom. I've read Chippaux's book on venom and scoured SSAR's back issues and looked dozens of other places, but can't seem to find a decent account of someone who's actually participated in production. I'm interested in the process, the difficulties, etc. I'm even curious about an historical perspective on it, eg discarded approaches, how production practices have changed over the years, how demand and the changing pharmaceutical industry have impacted supply and methodology, whether there's been a marked shift from using horses to using sheep or if there were other animals used or experimented with at some point, etc.
Hope this clarifies my motivations a bit...
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RE: Antivenom Banks
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by Cro on February 3, 2009
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Adam, if you are going to be messing around in Africam with venomous snakes, perhaps you should secure your own supply of SAIMR before you do that.
That might be better than counting on a antivenom bank to be there if you make a mistake and get bitten.
SAIMR is readilly available, and cheap.
Best Regards
John Z
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RE: Antivenom Banks
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by AquaHerp on February 3, 2009
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Well, that's quite a lengthy response.
I agree that "Venoms and Envenomations" is a good read.
We have been part of the studies for antivenoms, although the tricky part is divulging information without breaching confidentiality agreements with various pharmaceutical companies.
I'm thinking Jim Harrison and a couple of the others may be able to chime in. It may be a nice idea for an article.
As for dependable hospitals in Africa...that's going to depend on where you are; big place.
There's just no easy way to answer you request.
DH
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RE: Antivenom Banks
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by FLherp on February 4, 2009
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Rabbits and dogs have been used in production of some antivenom. Horses and sheep are most commonly used. At some point, there was work being done on poultry and the innoculation of eggs to produce an IgY product - haven't heard anything about that in a while.
The process is similar to what was done in the 1890's. There have been advances in purification techniques and a move to the use of digested IgG rather than whole IgG, but other than that it is not very much different than the early techniques. Also qualitative and quantitive analysis is much improved over early techniques.
Antivenoms are the domain of pharmaceutical companies these days and the production may involve proprietary information, but the process is still the same as that outlined in Chippaux's book.
SAIMR should be available in country in many places in Africa, perhaps it would be advisable to contact area hospitals to determine the best location for treatment of an injury.
You may also wish to look at the following website;
http://www.amref.org/flying-doctors/
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RE: Antivenom Banks
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by FLherp on February 4, 2009
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In the above the antivenom produced by chickens is harvested from the eggs, but the chickens are innoculated beginning when they are young and the protective antibodies are passed into the egg. These antibodies are then harvested from the yolk
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