Hugh Alistair Reid OBE MD: investigation and treatment of snake bite

Non-standard nature. Venoms, serum and serpentariums in the uneven fabrication of global health

Envenomation challenges international public health, and antivenom serum is a strategic tool in the management of this condition. However, although antivenom serum has been in use since the late 19th century, the accessibility, quality and safety of this essential health product are still causes for concern in the most affected areas. The reasons for such a situation are multiple and include the poverty of snakebite victims, the high production costs of serum, the logistical difficulties pertaining to the mostly rural location of envenomation events, however one root cause has been the recurring difficulty to standardize antivenom serum as a health commodity. This paper, grounded in "Science and Technology Studies" (STS) focuses on this standardization issue, and argues that it can be explained in two complementary ways: on one hand, the difficulty to standardize serum relates to the nature of venom itself, and on the other hand, it relates to the social and institutional characteristics of envenomation as a neglected disease. The argument is supported by the analysis of reports published by the World Health Organization expert committee on biological standardization from 1947 to 2022 and dealing with the standardization of venom and antivenom. The paper describes the successive standardization strategies implemented by international public health actors. This analysis shows that standardization procedures are shaped by a series of interactions between objects (venom and antivenom), scientific bodies of knowledge that characterize them (eg. toxinology or venomics), organizational and financial public health regimes that frame their circulation. The difficulties raised by the standardization of antivenom reveal the problematic articulation between these domains. Acknowledging this problematic articulation, the discussion emphasizes its consequences for the understanding of relations between medical technologies, global markets and so-called "natural resources". One conclusion drawn from these findings is to call for a "One Health" approach that would take into greater account the diversity and complexity of non-human life.

Diagnosis of snakebite and the importance of immunological tests in venom research

In many cases of envenoming following snake bite, the snake responsible for the accident remains unidentified; this frequently results in difficulty deciding which antivenom to administer to the systemically-envenomed victim, especially when only monospecific antivenoms are available. Normally the specific diagnosis of snake bite can be conveniently made using clinical and laboratory methods. Where clinical diagnosis depends upon the recognition of specific signs of envenoming in the patient, laboratory diagnosis is based on the changes which occur in envenomed victims including the detection of abnormalities in blood parameters, presence/absence of myoglobinuria, changes in certain enzyme levels, presence/absence of neurotoxic signs and the detection in the blood of specific venom antigens using immunologically-based techniques, such as enzyme immunoassay. It is the latter which is the main subject of this review, together with the application of techniques currently used to objectively assess the effectiveness of new and existing antivenoms, to assess first aid measures, to investigate the possible use of such methods in epidemiological studies, and to detect individual venom components. With this in mind, we have discussed in some detail how such techniques were developed and how they have helped in the treatment of envenoming particularly and in venom research in general.

Anti-cobra venom activity of plant Andrographis paniculata and its comparison with polyvalent anti-snake venom

Background:

To investigate the anti-cobra venom effect of alcoholic extract of Andrographis paniculata.

Materials and Methods:

After calculating the LD₉₉ of snake venom, the venom-neutralizing ability of plant extract at the dose 1 g/kg and 2 g/kg was determined using in vitro and in vivo methods. The alleviation in the mean survival time of the animals were used to infer the antivenom property of the drug after challenging with LD₉₉ of snake venom.

Results:

The ethanolic extract of plant A. paniculata significantly increases mean survival time and the protection fold, but could not protect animals from death when used alone. The higher dose, i.e., 2 g/kg was found better than that of the lower. ASV was found more effective than the plant extract. When ASV was given along with plant extract, it potentiates its effect.

Conclusion:

The observation demonstrates the anti-cobra venom activity of ethanolic extract of A. paniculata which is comparable with ASV.

Emergency treatment of a snake bite: Pearls from literature

Snake bite is a well-known occupational hazard amongst farmers, plantation workers, and other outdoor workers and results in much morbidity and mortality throughout the world. This occupational hazard is no more an issue restricted to a particular part of the world; it has become a global issue. Accurate statistics of the incidence of snakebite and its morbidity and mortality throughout the world does not exist; however, it is certain to be higher than what is reported. This is because even today most of the victims initially approach traditional healers for treatment and many are not even registered in the hospital. Hence, registering such patients is an important goal if we are to have accurate statistics and reduce the morbidity and mortality due to snakebite. World Health Organization/South East Asian Region Organisation (WHO/SEARO) has published guidelines, specific for the South East Asian region, for the clinical management of snakebites. The same guidelines may be applied for managing snakebite patients in other parts of the world also, since no other professional body has come up with any other evidence-based guidelines. In this article we highlight the incidence and clinical features of different types of snakebite and the management guidelines as per the WHO/SEARO recommendation.

Twentieth century toxinology and antivenom development in Australia

It was not until the last decade of the 19th century that an experimental approach (led by Bancroft in Queensland and Martin in Sydney and Melbourne) brought a higher plane of scientific objectivity to usher in the modern era of Australian toxinology. This Australia era, 1895-1905, coincided with and in some respects was the result of the new knowledge emerging from Europe and the Americas of the therapeutic effects of antitoxins. The subsequent systematic study of Australian venoms and toxins through to the 1930s and beyond, by Tidswell, Fairley, Ross, Kellaway and Cleland, set the foundation for Australia's leading reputation in venom research. As elsewhere, this development was to revolutionise the medical management of those victims who in the past had died in Australia from our venomous and toxic fauna. Morgan, Graydon, Weiner, Lane and Baxter at the Commonwealth Serum Laboratories emphasised the importance of cooperation between those expert at catching and milking the venomous creatures and those developing the antivenoms. Commercial antivenom manufacture began in Australia in 1930 with the tiger snake antivenom. This was followed by other antivenoms for the other important species (1955: taipan; 1956: brown snake; 1958: death adder; 1959: Papuan black snake; 1961: sea snake; 1962: polyvalent) including the first marine antivenoms in the world (1956: stonefish antivenom; 1970: box jellyfish) culminating, in 1980, with the release of the funnel web spider antivenom. More recent activity has focused on veterinary antivenoms and production of new generation human antivenoms for export (CroFab and ViperaTAB). This paper reviews some of the milestones of Australian toxinology, and antivenom development in particular, during the 20th century.