Preclinical testing of three South American antivenoms against the venoms of five medically-important Peruvian snake venoms.

World Health Organization (WHO)-recommended preclinical in vivo and in vitro studies were carried out to compare the efficacy of Brazilian, Peruvian and Colombian antivenoms in neutralizing the venom toxins responsible for the lethal, haemorrhagic, necrotizing, coagulant and defibrinogenating effects of five medically-important Peruvian snake venoms. Overall, the Brazilian antivenom was found to be the most effective followed by the Peruvian and Colombian antivenoms. However, it was concluded that all three antivenoms would be acceptable for use in a randomised clinical trial in envenomed humans in Peru.