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Toxicon: X2023; 18; 100158; doi: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2023.100158

Clinical effects of immunization, bleeding, and albumin-based fluid therapy in horses used as immunoglobulin source to produce a polyspecific antivenom (Echitab-plus-ICP) towards venoms of African snakes.

Abstract: During the production of snake antivenoms, the animals used as immunoglobulin source are subjected to processes that could deteriorate their physical condition. Therefore, these conditions must be carefully designed and validated. In this work, the immunization and bleeding protocols applied to horses used to produce the African polyspecific antivenom EchiTAb-plus-ICP were evaluated regarding their effects on the horses' health. The study focused on horses that had been previously immunized with venoms and then received periodic booster venom injections for antivenom production. It was found that the periodic immunization with 5 mg of a mixture of venoms of , , and did not induce systemic signs of envenomation, and only caused mild swelling at the injection site, which did not evolve to abscesses, fistulas, or fibrosis. Three consecutive days of bleeding, collecting 6-8 L of blood per day, and self-transfusing the red blood cells (RBC) in the second and third days, did not induce evident cardiorespiratory alterations. However, this procedure caused significant reductions in RBC, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and total plasma protein values. Seven weeks after bleeding, these parameters were recovered, and horses were ready for the next immunization/bleeding cycle. The intravenous administration of equine albumin, at a dose of 2 g/kg body weight, increased the apparent plasma volume and the albumin concentration. However, this procedure induced early adverse reactions and transient alterations of the serum levels of the enzyme gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), thus suggesting some degree of hepatic injury. It was concluded that immunization and bleeding as described in this work do not cause significant clinical alterations in the horse's health, except for a transient drop in some hematological parameters. The albumin-based fluid therapy used does not hasten the recovery after bleeding but instead induces adverse events in the animals.
© 2023 The Authors.
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Publication Date: 2023-04-17 PubMed ID: 37180815PubMed Central: PMC10172988DOI: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2023.100158Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

The research focuses on the welfare of the horses used in producing antivenoms. It analyses the effect of immunization, bleeding, and albumin-based fluid therapy on the health of the horses. The study concluded that the process did not cause serious health issues for the horses aside from temporary drops in certain hematological parameters.

Overview of the Research

  • The research aimed to investigate the effects of immunization and bleeding protocols on horses used as a source of immunoglobulins to produce an African polyspecific antivenom named EchiTAb-plus-ICP.
  • The study was centered on horses that received venoms for immunization regularly and underwent bleeding for antivenom production.
  • The study noted that these protocols must be carefully monitored to ensure that they do not harm the horses’ health.

Findings of the Research

  • Immunizing the horses with a mixture of different venoms did not cause systemic signs of venom poisoning, but only mild swelling at the injection site. There was no development of abscesses, fistulas, or fibrosis due to the immunization.
  • The process of bleeding the animals over three days, with reinfusion of red blood cells on the second and third days, led to no clear cardiorespiratory changes. However, this procedure did cause significant drops in red blood cell count, hematocrit, hemoglobin, and total plasma protein values.
  • Seven weeks after bleeding, these parameters were back to normal, and the horses were ready for the next immunization/bleeding cycle.
  • The albumin-based fluid therapy treatment didn’t hasten the recovery after bleeding but instead caused adverse reactions and temporary changes in the levels of the enzyme from the liver known as gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), indicating potential liver injury.

Conclusions of the Research

  • The immunization and bleeding procedures used in the study did not cause substantial clinical changes in the horse’s health, apart from a transient decrease in some parameters related to the blood.
  • The albumin-based fluid therapy used after bleeding did not accelerate recovery but instead resulted in adverse reactions in the horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Huertas RM, Arguedas M, Estrada JM, Moscoso E, Umaña D, Solano G, Vargas M, Segura Á, Sánchez A, Herrera M, Villalta M, Arroyo-Portilla C, Gutiérrez JM, León G. (2023). Clinical effects of immunization, bleeding, and albumin-based fluid therapy in horses used as immunoglobulin source to produce a polyspecific antivenom (Echitab-plus-ICP) towards venoms of African snakes. Toxicon X, 18, 100158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxcx.2023.100158

Publication

Toxicon: X
ISSN: 2590-1710
NlmUniqueID: 101741983
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 18
Pages: 100158
PII: 100158

Researcher Affiliations

Huertas, Rose Mary
  • Laboratorio de Análisis Clínicos, Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Heredia, Costa Rica.
Arguedas, Mauricio
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Estrada, Juan Manuel
  • Hospital de Equinos, Especies Mayores y Terapias Regenerativas, Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica, Heredia, Costa Rica.
Moscoso, Edwin
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Umaña, Deibid
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Solano, Gabriela
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Vargas, Mariángela
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Segura, Álvaro
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Sánchez, Andrés
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Herrera, María
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Villalta, Mauren
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Arroyo-Portilla, Cynthia
  • Departamento de Análisis Clínicos, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Gutiérrez, José María
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
León, Guillermo
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Guillermo Leon Montero reports financial support was provided by Wellcome Trust.

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Citations

This article has been cited 2 times.
  1. Sánchez A, Durán G, Cerdas M, Gutiérrez J, Segura Á, Herrera M, Vargas M, Sánchez A, Sánchez P, Solano G, Villalta M, Moscoso E, Umaña D, Arguedas M, Gómez A, Gutiérrez JM, León G. A polygeneric immunogen composed of 22 venoms from sub-Saharan African snakes to expand the neutralization scope of the EchiTAb-plus-ICP antivenom. Toxicon X 2024 Dec;24:100213.
    doi: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2024.100213pubmed: 39640251google scholar: lookup
  2. Arias-Esquivel AM, Moscoso E, Umaña D, Arguedas M, Solano D, Durán G, Gómez A, Gutiérrez JM, León G. Stress levels, hematological condition, and productivity of plasma-producing horses used for snake antivenom manufacture: A comparison of two industrial bleeding methods. Toxicon X 2024 Dec;24:100212.
    doi: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2024.100212pubmed: 39525403google scholar: lookup
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