Development of Equine IgG Antivenoms against Major Snake Groups in Mozambique

摘要

BackgroundSnake envenoming is a significant public health problem in underdeveloped and developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, it is estimated that 90,000–400,000 envenomations occur each year, resulting in 3,500–32,000 deaths. Envenomings are caused by snakes from the Viperidae (Bitis spp. and Echis spp.) and Elapidae (Naja spp. and Dendroaspis spp.) families. The African continent has been suffering from a severe antivenom crisis and current antivenom production is only sufficient to treat 25% of snakebite cases. Our aim is to develop high-quality antivenoms against the main snake species found in Mozambique.