Abstract
The snake genus Lachesis provokes 2 to 3% of snakebites in Colombia every year. Two Lachesis species, L. acrochorda and L. muta, share habitats with snakes from another genus, namely Bothrops asper and B. atrox. Lachesis venom causes systemic and local effects such as swelling, hemorrhaging, myonecrosis, hemostatic disorders and nephrotoxic symptoms similar to those induced by Bothrops, Portidium and Bothriechis bites. Bothrops antivenoms neutralize a variety of Lachesis venom toxins. However, these products are unable to avoid coagulation problems provoked by Lachesis snakebites. Thus, it is important to ascertain whether the envenomation was caused by a Bothrops or Lachesis snake. The present study found enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) efficient for detecting Lachesis acrochorda venom in a concentration range of 3.9 to 1000 ng/mL, which did not show a cross-reaction with Bothrops, Portidium, Botriechis and Crotalus venoms. Furthermore, one fraction of L. acrochorda venom that did not show crossreactivity with B. asper venom was isolated using the same ELISA antibodies; some of its proteins were identified including one Gal-specific lectin and one metalloproteinase. This test may be useful to physicians, since it could be applicable for tracking the kinetic distribution of antigens in patients or experimentally envenomed animals.
Highlights
Snakebite is a common and frequently devastating environmental and occupational pathology, especially in rural areas of tropical developing countries [1]
According to the National Health Institute of Colombia, 3405 snakebite cases occurred in the country during 2009, of which 3.2 % were induced by Verrugoso (Lachesis spp.) [2]
Lachesis spp. are found preferentially in primary forests and comprise four species: L. stenophrys, distributed in lower Central America in the Atlantic lowlands of central and possibly southern Nicaragua through northern Costa Rica to about central Panama; L. melanocephala, located in southern Costa Rica and possibly extreme western Panama, where it is restricted to the Pacific versant; L. acrochorda, distributed in both the Atlantic and Pacific versants of western Panama and into northwestern Colombia on the Atlantic coast where it extends southward into the Cauca and Magdalena river Valleys, and along the Pacific versant of Colombia into northwestern Ecuador; and L. muta, found in South America east of the Andes [3]
Summary
Snakebite is a common and frequently devastating environmental and occupational pathology, especially in rural areas of tropical developing countries [1]. According to the National Health Institute of Colombia, 3405 snakebite cases occurred in the country during 2009, of which 3.2 % were induced by Verrugoso (Lachesis spp.) [2]. Envenomations by Lachesis spp. are characterized by severe coagulopathy with fibrinogen depletion, edema, hemorrhaging, pain and necrosis which may result in permanent sequelae or even death [4].
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