Merit and demerit of polyvalent snake antivenoms

Abstract

Polyvalent antivenoms contain specific antibodies capable of neutralizing a number of homologous venoms from different species/genera. They can save lives of victims of snake envenomations, even when the culprit snake has not been identified (the usual case, about 80% of the time), and a monovalent antivenom can not be chosen. They are useful in areas where there are too many poisonous species to produce monovalent antivenoms against all of them. It is now possible to prepare polyvalent antivenoms with high potencies comparable to those of the corresponding monovalent antivenoms. With good manufacturing processes, these antivenoms have been shown to cause few and minor adverse reactions. In addition, polyvalent antivenoms exhibit a wider range of paraspecific neutralization of venoms from different species/genera, even from distant geographic areas. Lastly, it is less expensive and easier to produce and handle a few polyvalent antivenoms than batteries of monovalent antivenoms.