Summary

Use of safe and specific anti-venom is currently recognized as the most cost-effective treatment for venomous snakebite globally. Indian anti-venom available in Sri Lanka lacks specificity and is unsafe. The urgent necessity of safe and specific anti-venom has now been recognized by the Ministry of Health, and a steering committee has been organized to investigate the feasibility of anti-venom production in Sri Lanka. The objectives of the said steering committee are to collect venom from Sri Lankan snakes and have the anti-venom produced by a reputed anti-venom producer, abroad as Sri Lanka lacks technical expertise to develop anti-venom within the country.

Establishment anti-venom manufacturing facility is estimated to cost well over USD 4million. The cost effectiveness of a project of this magnitude should be clearly established and superiority of the anti-venom to be produced over the currently available anti-venom should be established before a financial and institutional commitment is made.

Objectives

• Collection and Physicochemical analysis of venom of medically important snakes of Sri Lanka through maintenance of the serpentarium already built at Dambulla.
• Toxic and enzymatic activities of venoms.
• Preparation of test batch of poly specific anti-venom at ICP.
• Physicochemical analysis of anti-venom.
• Preparation of Horse Facility for production of anti-venom.
• Randomized controlled Clinical Trial.

Major Equipment Facilitated by Grant

• Lyophilizer

Designation

Principal Investigator (PI)

Deputy Principal Investigator (DPI)

Co- investigator

Co- investigator

Institute

Department of Medicine University of Peradeniya

Department of Veterinary Epidemiology University of Peradeniya

Institiuto Clodomiro Picado, Costa Rica

Animal Venom Research International