Healthy Skepticism Library item: 13384

Warning: This library includes all items relevant to health product marketing that we are aware of regardless of quality. Often we do not agree with all or part of the contents.

Publication type: Journal Article

Warrell DA.
Unscrupulous marketing of snake bite antivenoms in Africa and Papua New Guinea: choosing the right product-'What's in a name?
Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg 2008 Mar 20; epub ahead of print
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B75GP-4S3P8BC-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=4de680134262651b3097fcfa4e7355be

Abstract:

Snake bite envenoming, mainly caused by the saw-scaled or carpet viper (Echis ocellatus), is a neglected disease of West Africa. Specific antivenoms can save life and limb but, for various reasons, supply of these essential drugs to Africa has dwindled to less than 2% of estimated requirements. Other problems include maldistribution, inadequate conservation and inappropriate clinical use of antivenoms. In the face of this crisis, several promising new antivenoms have been developed. However, some dangerously inappropriate products of Indian origin are being marketed by unscrupulous manufacturers or distributors in Africa and Papua New Guinea, with disastrous results. A major source of confusion is labelling antivenom with ambiguous snake names that fail to distinguish the Asian species whose venoms are used in their production from the local snakes whose venoms are antigenically dissimilar.

Keywords:
Snake bite; Antivenom; Snake taxonomy; Echis ocellatus; West Africa; Oxyuranus scutellatus canni; Papua New Guinea