Snake Too Deadly For Antivenom Stocks

[CharlieJ]

Snake Too Deadly For Antivenom Stocks
Verity Edwards
October 02, 2006

THE deadly brown snake injects up to four times more venom into its victims than previously thought, creating an urgent need for larger doses of antivenom to be made available to hospitals. University of South Australia fellow Peter Mirtschin said it had been commonly believed that brown snakes injected an average of 4mg of venom with each bite of their fangs.

But research by Mr Mirtschin, who also is managing director of a Barossa Valley venom supplier, has revealed that South Australian brown snakes produced about 8mg of venom and Queensland browns could inject up to 16mg in one strike. "The frightening thing is you can get individual ones who can give a lot more (venom)," Mr Mirtschin said. "It's not always the case but in general the bigger ones give more."

Mr Mirtschin said his findings, which have just been published in the science journal Etoxicology, could have significant implications for the producers of antivenom for hospitals and organisations that treated victims.

Much larger doses could be needed to counter the effects of snake bites.

"If you don't put enough antivenom in, you're not going to neutralise all of it and there's still going to be some (venom) hanging around," he said. The snake handler - whose company milks 800 snakes including "exotic" vipers, rattlesnakes and cobras for antivenom producers - said venom contained neurotoxins and enzymes that caused blood to clot.

Mr Mirtschin said that if inadequate amounts of antivenom were injected into victims, the poison would continue to act until it broke down over time, which could lead to potentially fatal results.

"You need to neutralise all of the enzyme before it stops the reaction," he said.

About 5000 people are bitten by snakes annually, with almost 500 needing antivenom.

But Mr Mirtschin said only two or three people were likely to die of snake bites each year.

He said several medical reports had also highlighted the need for larger doses of antivenom to be made available.

But he said it had so far been difficult to convince the privatised makers of antivenom to produce larger quantities of their product.

"You have to go through all of these regulatory bodies to have it approved," he said.

"The only real answer to it is the Government has got to inject some funds into (snake research)."