The Institute of Biotechnology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Toxicon. 2010 Jun 15;55(7):1405-7. doi: 10.1016/j.toxicon.2010.02.012. Epub 2010 Feb 18.
Antivenom is the only effective treatment for envenoming by snakes, scorpions and other venomous creatures. Unfortunately, supplies of this life-saving drug in many countries are critically low, and the tragic consequence of untreated envenoming exacts a chronic humanitarian and economic burden on those communities affected. This neglected health crisis struggles to compete with higher profile illnesses for recognition, research attention and funding. Sound strategies to improve the provision of antivenoms repeatedly fail because of an inability to attract the requisite financial investment. In the highly competitive international health landscape, the greatest challenge for stakeholders is to demonstrate that antivenom constitutes an affordable, cost-effective and worthwhile investment of healthcare resources. Recent collaborations in the UK, Africa and South America, have proven that lowering the production costs of antivenom to affordable levels is sustainable. A simple healthcare-economic calculation can be used to demonstrate the superior cost-effectiveness of antivenoms in preventing death and disability. These advances may lead to antivenom becoming one of the most cost-effective treatments available to modern medicine, and provides strong justification for its inclusion in international health funding initiatives.
抗蛇毒血清是治疗蛇、蝎子和其他有毒生物咬伤的唯一有效方法。不幸的是，许多国家的这种救命药物供应严重不足，未经治疗的咬伤所带来的悲惨后果给受影响的社区带来了长期的人道主义和经济负担。这种被忽视的健康危机难以与更受关注的疾病竞争，以获得认可、研究关注和资金。由于无法吸引必要的财政投资，改善抗蛇毒血清供应的策略一再失败。在竞争激烈的国际卫生领域，利益相关者面临的最大挑战是证明抗蛇毒血清是一种负担得起、具有成本效益且值得投资的医疗资源。最近在英国、非洲和南美洲的合作证明，将抗蛇毒血清的生产成本降低到可承受的水平是可持续的。简单的医疗保健经济计算可以证明抗蛇毒血清在预防死亡和残疾方面的成本效益更高。这些进展可能导致抗蛇毒血清成为现代医学中最具成本效益的治疗方法之一，并为将其纳入国际卫生筹资倡议提供了强有力的理由。
