Development of recombinant antivenoms based on mixtures of human antibodies against <i>D. polylepis</i> toxins

Abstract

With an annual 150,000 deaths and countless amputations and disfigurements,snakebite envenoming is an ever-present threat in many parts of the rural tropicalworld1. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 1-2% of victims are treated with antivenom,which is currently based on animal-derived antibodies. Due to their heterologousorigin, antivenoms often provoke serious side effects in human recipients, such asserum sickness and anaphylaxis, which in some cases leads to death