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Toxicon: X2024; 24; 100212; doi: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2024.100212

Stress levels, hematological condition, and productivity of plasma-producing horses used for snake antivenom manufacture: A comparison of two industrial bleeding methods.

Abstract: The immunization and industrial bleeding of horses are essential stages for producing snake antivenoms. In Costa Rica, the traditional method involves stimulating the antibody response of horses by periodically injecting venoms, collecting hyperimmune plasma over three consecutive bleeding days, and repeating this process every eight weeks. While this method does not cause major physical or hematological issues in horses, the associated stress has not been evaluated. We compared this traditional method with an alternative method that involves injecting venoms, collecting hyperimmune plasma in a single bleeding day, and repeating the process every two weeks. We assessed stress (via serum and fecal cortisol levels and an ethological study), hematological parameters (hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration), and plasma productivity over eight months. Serum cortisol levels remained within the normal range for both methods throughout the immunization/bleeding cycle. However, serum and fecal cortisol levels were significantly higher in horses subjected to the traditional method compared to those in the alternative method. Neither method caused significant hematological alterations. Notably, the alternative method yielded a higher volume of plasma. We concluded that adopting the alternative method ensures horse welfare while improving industrial bleeding productivity. This approach may reduce costs and improve the availability of this essential treatment for vulnerable populations.
© 2024 The Authors.
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Publication Date: 2024-10-21 PubMed ID: 39525403PubMed Central: PMC11543541DOI: 10.1016/j.toxcx.2024.100212Google Scholar: Lookup
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  • Journal Article

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.

Research Overview

  • This study compared two industrial bleeding methods used on horses for producing snake antivenom in Costa Rica, focusing on evaluating stress levels, blood health, and plasma productivity.
  • The traditional method involved multiple consecutive bleeding days every eight weeks, while the alternative method collected plasma in a single day repeated every two weeks.

Background

  • Horses immunized with snake venom are critical in producing snake antivenoms as their plasma contains antibodies against venom toxins.
  • Costa Rica’s traditional bleeding method uses periodic venom injections followed by plasma collection over three consecutive days, repeated every eight weeks.
  • Although physical and hematological health effects of this method were previously studied, the associated stress on horses had not been thoroughly assessed.
  • An alternative, more frequent bleeding method with fewer consecutive bleeding days was proposed to potentially improve welfare and productivity.

Research Objectives

  • To compare the traditional and alternative bleeding methods in terms of:
    • Stress experienced by the horses, measured by serum and fecal cortisol levels and behavior observations.
    • Hematological health via parameters such as hematocrit (percentage of red blood cells in blood) and hemoglobin concentration.
    • Plasma production volume over an eight-month period.

Methods

  • Two groups of horses underwent the different bleeding protocols:
    • Traditional Method: Venom injections followed by plasma collection on three consecutive days every eight weeks.
    • Alternative Method: Venom injections with plasma collected on a single day, repeated every two weeks.
  • Stress assessment:
    • Serum cortisol measured via blood samples to assess acute stress.
    • Fecal cortisol measured as an indicator of chronic or integrated stress levels.
    • Ethological studies to observe horse behavior and detect stress-related signs.
  • Hematological parameters such as hematocrit and hemoglobin concentration were tested to identify any blood health disruptions.
  • Plasma productivity was quantified by measuring the volume of plasma obtained over the study period.

Key Findings

  • Stress levels:
    • Serum cortisol remained within normal ranges for horses in both methods throughout the cycles, indicating no extreme acute stress.
    • Both serum and fecal cortisol levels were significantly higher in horses following the traditional method compared to the alternative method, suggesting greater stress in the traditional approach.
  • Hematological health:
    • No substantial differences or harmful alterations in hematocrit or hemoglobin concentrations were found between the two methods.
    • Both methods were safe from the perspective of maintaining healthy blood conditions in horses.
  • Plasma productivity:
    • The alternative bleeding method produced a higher volume of plasma than the traditional method over the eight months.

Conclusions and Implications

  • The alternative bleeding method reduces stress in plasma-producing horses while maintaining good hematological health.
  • This approach improves plasma production efficiency compared to the traditional method.
  • Adoption of the alternative method can therefore enhance animal welfare and increase industrial productivity simultaneously.
  • Better productivity with lower stress may reduce production costs and increase the availability of antivenom treatments for vulnerable populations at risk of snakebite envenomation.

Significance

  • Ensuring the welfare of production animals is critical for ethical and sustainable pharmaceutical manufacturing.
  • Improved bleeding protocols like the alternative method demonstrated here can serve as models for similar antivenom production operations worldwide.
  • Reducing animal stress without compromising productivity supports both scientific and humanitarian goals in snakebite treatment.

Cite This Article

APA
Arias-Esquivel AM, Moscoso E, Umaña D, Arguedas M, Solano D, Durán G, Gómez A, Gutiérrez JM, León G. (2024). Stress levels, hematological condition, and productivity of plasma-producing horses used for snake antivenom manufacture: A comparison of two industrial bleeding methods. Toxicon X, 24, 100212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxcx.2024.100212

Publication

Toxicon: X
ISSN: 2590-1710
NlmUniqueID: 101741983
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 24
Pages: 100212
PII: 100212

Researcher Affiliations

Arias-Esquivel, Ana Margarita
  • Escuela de Zootecnia, Facultad de Ciencias Agroalimentarias, Universidad de Costa Rica, 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.
Arguedas, Mauricio
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Solano, Daniela
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Durán, Gina
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, Facultad de Microbiología, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Gómez, Aarón
  • Instituto Clodomiro Picado, 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.

Grant Funding

  • Wellcome Trust

Conflict of Interest Statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Guillermo Leon reports financial support was provided by 10.13039/100010269Wellcome Trust. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 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
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