Production of the first effective hyperimmune equine serum antivenom against Africanized bees.

Keity Souza Santos,Thalita Rocha,Celso Caricati,Ana Maria Moro,José Roberto Marcelino,Jorge Elias Kalil,Osmar Malaspina,Marco Antonio Stephano,Virginia Maria Resende Ferreira,Mário Sérgio Palma,Fabio Fernandes Morato Castro,Hisako Gondo Higashi,Evren Alici

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0079971

Abstract

Victims of massive bee attacks become extremely ill, presenting symptoms ranging from dizziness and headache to acute renal failure and multiple organ failure that can lead to death. Previous attempts to develop specific antivenom to treat these victims have been unsuccessful. We herein report a F(ab)´2-based antivenom raised in horse as a potential new treatment for victims of multiple bee stings. The final product contains high specific IgG titers and is effective in neutralizing toxic effects, such as hemolysis, cytotoxicity and myotoxicity. The assessment of neutralization was revised and hemolysis, the primary toxic effect of these stings, was fully neutralized in vivo for the first time.

Highlights

Africanized honeybees (AHB) derive from a founder population of the tropical-evolved African subspecies of Apis mellifera scutellata brought from South Africa into Brazil in 1956 to interbreed with previously imported European honeybees [1]
There is no specific treatment for victims of multiple bee attacks and there is an urgent need for specific antivenom
After a massive bee attack, the victim is submitted to a non-specific treatment, basically consisting of the administration of antihistamines, corticosteroids, bronchodilators, vasodilators, bicarbonate, mannitol, adrenaline and mechanical ventilation, in addition to hemodialysis sessions when needed [8,19]

Summary

Introduction

Africanized honeybees (AHB) derive from a founder population of the tropical-evolved African subspecies of Apis mellifera scutellata brought from South Africa into Brazil in 1956 to interbreed with previously imported European honeybees [1]. A number of queens escaped by accident from the original apiary and survived in the wild in Brazil. These Africanized colonies quickly crossbred out of control with the common European sub-species of A. mellifera [1]. The highly defensive behavior of the Africanized bees and their astounding rate of spread contributed to an unusual capacity of moving great distances without intermediary colonization [2], favoring the dispersal of these wild colonies throughout the Americas until they reached the United States in 1990 [3]. The frequency of mass bee attacks has dramatically increased in the Americas following the introduction and spread of the aggressive AHB, known as the “killer bee”. The administration of antihistamines, corticosteroids, bronchodilators, vasodilators, bicarbonate, mannitol, adrenaline and mechanical ventilation, in addition to hemodialysis sessions, are among the most prevalent nonspecific therapies used to treat victims of multiple bee attacks; many of these therapies lack efficacy [8]

Methods

Results

Conclusion