EVALUATION OF ANTIBOTHROPIC AND ANTILOXOSCELIC ANTIVENOM PRODUCTION AT CPPI: A RETROSPECTIVE STUDY

INTRODUCTION: Accidents with venomous animals are a serious public health problem in Brazil,especially in the South, where cases caused by Bothrops snakes and Loxoscelesspiders predominate. Serum therapy, produced from the plasma of immunized horses,is the only specific and effective treatment available. In this context, the role of theCPPI (Federal Institute of the Interior) is noteworthy, responsible for the nationalproduction of trivalent anti-loxosceles serum and anti-Bothropic serum, making itessential to study the processes involved in this production. AIMS: Therefore, this studyaimed to conduct a comparative study of hematological parameters of the CPPI’sBothropic and Salox 1, 2, and 3 troops, aiming to evaluate the immunologicalresponse and lifespan of immunized animals, and to investigate the average volumeof plasma obtained throughout the process. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective study was based onhandwritten records of 48 horses from the center, covering animal’s clinical, health,and production history, including everything from its entry into the institution toactivities related to immunization, management, and plasma collection. Statisticalanalyses were performed using Jamovi software (version 2.6.44), adopting asignificance level of 5% (p < 0.05). The chi-square test was used to assess theassociation between horse fitness and herds. The mean number of clinical eventsamong herds was compared using one-way ANOVA. The efficiency of plasmaseparation and the variation in hematological parameters among herds wereassessed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. The association between whole blood bagweight and its separated components was analyzed using Spearman's correlationcoefficient. RESULTS: No statistically significant association was observed between herd, age,and immunological fitness. The average number of clinical events did not differsignificantly between troops, and an adequate sanitary standard was observed, witha low incidence of clinical events and a high frequency of vaccination and deworming.A progressive increase in plasma volumes was observed throughout the bleedings, aproportional reduction in formed elements, and a positive correlation between theweight of the whole blood bag and the fractionated plasma volume (p < 0.001).Although there was no significant difference in immunological fitness between troops,an increase in plasma production efficiency was observed throughout the bleedingsand a positive correlation between hematological parameters and yield. FINAL CONSIDERATIONS: These resultsindicate that the immune performance, sanitary management, and hematologicalindicators are adequate for antivenom production and are undergoing continuousimprovement.

KEYWORDS: Antivenom; CPPI; Bothrops; Loxosceles; Equines