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Abstract
Bothrops atrox snakes are the leading cause of snake bites in Northern Brazil. The venom of this snake is not included in the antigen pool used to obtain the Bothrops antivenom. There are discrepancies in reports on the effectiveness of this antivenom to treat victims bitten by B. atrox snakes. However, these studies were performed using a pre-incubation of the venom with the antivenom and, thus, did not simulate a true case of envenomation treatment. In addition, the local lesions induced by Bothrops venoms are not well resolved by antivenom therapy. Here, we investigated the efficacy of the Bothrops antivenom in treating the signs and symptoms caused by B. atrox venom in mice and evaluated whether the combination of dexamethasone and antivenom therapy enhanced the healing of local lesions induced by this envenomation. In animals that were administered the antivenom 10 minutes after the envenomation, we observed an important reduction of edema, dermonecrosis, and myonecrosis. When the antivenom was given 45 minutes after the envenomation, the edema and myonecrosis were reduced, and the fibrinogen levels and platelet counts were restored. The groups treated with the combination of antivenom and dexamethasone had an enhanced decrease in edema and a faster recovery of the damaged skeletal muscle. Our results show that Bothrops antivenom effectively treats the envenomation caused by Bothrops atrox and that the use of dexamethasone as an adjunct to the antivenom therapy could be useful to improve the treatment of local symptoms observed in envenomation caused by Bothrops snakes.
Highlights
Snake bites are a public health problem
(1) There are concerns regarding the effectiveness of the antivenom to treat Bothrops snake bites in this region since Bothrops atrox venom is not used as an antigen to obtain the Bothrops antivenom in Brazil, and (2) the efficacy of the antivenom therapy in reversing local injuries induced by Bothrops venoms is low
Our study aimed to assess the effectiveness of antivenom therapy alone or in combination with dexamethasone to treat experimental envenomation induced by Bothrops atrox venom in mice
Summary
Snake bites are a public health problem They are associated with poverty and occupation and affect the population of rural areas [1,2]. In Northern Brazil, this species causes the majority of bites, but its venom is not used as an antigen in the production of the Bothrops antivenom. The antivenom produced in Brazil is obtained using a pool of antigens containing the following venoms: 50% Bothrops jararaca, 12.5% B. jararacussu, 12.5% B. alternatus, 12.5% B. moojeni, and 12.5% B. neuwiedi. This antigen formulation was achieved studying the cross-reactivity of monovalent antivenoms to venoms of ten Bothrops species [8]
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