Now Reading: Horse blood remains key to making snake venom antivenom
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Horse blood remains key to making snake venom antivenom
Snake antivenom, listed by the WHO as an essential medicine, is still manufactured using a process unchanged since 1895: hyperimmunising horses with small, diluted doses of venom. Over weeks, the animal develops…
The Story in Brief
Snake antivenom, listed by the WHO as an essential medicine, is still manufactured using a process unchanged since 1895: hyperimmunising horses with small, diluted doses of venom. Over weeks, the animal develops antibodies, and plasma is collected via plasmapheresis, a machine that returns red blood cells to the horse. A single horse can yield three to six litres of blood per session, making industrial-scale production possible.
Purification removes proteins that could cause reactions in patients, and the final product must pass potency tests. However, the International Animal Health Journal notes that repeated toxin injections and bloodletting can cause ulcers and organ failure in horses, and that no international standards govern the frequency or volume of collection.
The Indian Opinion
There is a quiet tension in the story of antivenom: we celebrate the saving of human lives but rarely ask about the cost to the horse. The International Animal Health Journal is right to point out that no global standards exist for how much blood can be taken or how often. That is a concrete failure, not an abstract ethical debate. India, which manufactures much of the world's antivenom, must push for a welfare protocol. The test will be whether producers start publishing collection frequency and injury audits voluntarily.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
