Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, School of Sciences, Tezpur University, Tezpur, 784028, Assam, India.
Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, School of Sciences, Tezpur University, Tezpur, 784028, Assam, India.
Anal Chim Acta. 2020 Nov 15;1137:208-224. doi: 10.1016/j.aca.2020.07.054. Epub 2020 Aug 11.
Snakebite is a neglected medical emergency causing fatalities and long-term disabilities throughout the world, especially in tropical countries. The effectiveness of therapy against snakebite is reliant on the unambiguous identification of bitten species of snake followed by immediate administration of venom-specific monovalent antivenom. However, this is a challenging task and therefore, over the several years scientists are constantly trying to address this issue by developing species-specific snake venom diagnostic kits as an alternative to classical methods of snake identification in clinics. Recently quite a few modern tools and techniques have been deployed for the development of simple, inexpensive, rapid, specific, and sensitive snake venom detection kits. However, despite these efforts a lone snakebite diagnostic kit is available until now which is a severe concern for efficacious snakebite therapy. In this article, we have reviewed the key issues pertaining to the rapid diagnosis of snake envenomation, tools and techniques developed and/or invented particularly over the past 40 years for the detection of snakebite as well as quantity of venom in the body fluids and/or tissues of victims. To overcome the practical constraints against the successful commercialization of these diagnostic kits, much more intensive studies for their improvement in terms of efficacy, affordability, storage stability, and usability, in addition to standardization of techniques for use in clinics are required to fulfil the objectives of the user-friendliness and commercial viability of snakebite diagnostic kits particularly in the rural and underdeveloped areas of tropical countries showing the maximum incidence of snakebite.
蛇伤是一种被忽视的医疗急症，在全球范围内，尤其是在热带国家，可导致死亡和长期残疾。治疗蛇伤的有效性取决于对咬伤蛇种的明确识别，然后立即给予特异性单价抗蛇毒血清。然而，这是一项具有挑战性的任务，因此，多年来，科学家们一直在努力通过开发特异性蛇毒诊断试剂盒来解决这个问题，以替代临床中蛇类识别的经典方法。最近，已经部署了相当多的现代工具和技术来开发简单、廉价、快速、特异和敏感的蛇毒检测试剂盒。然而，尽管做出了这些努力，直到现在，仍然没有一种单独的蛇伤诊断试剂盒，这对有效的蛇伤治疗是一个严重的关注。在本文中，我们回顾了与蛇伤快速诊断相关的关键问题、过去 40 年来为检测蛇伤而开发和/或发明的工具和技术，以及受害者体液和/或组织中蛇毒的含量。为了克服这些诊断试剂盒成功商业化的实际限制，需要进行更深入的研究，以提高其疗效、可负担性、储存稳定性和可用性，除了对用于临床的技术进行标准化之外，还需要进行更深入的研究，以实现用户友好性和商业可行性的目标，特别是在热带国家的农村和欠发达地区，这些地区蛇伤的发病率最高。
