Bioindustrial Center, Instituto Butantan;
Bioindustrial Center, Instituto Butantan.
J Vis Exp. 2023 Oct 6(200). doi: 10.3791/65737.
Scorpion envenomation is a public health problem in several tropical and subtropical countries. Tityus serrulatus Lutz and Mello, 1922 (Brazilian yellow scorpion) are responsible for approximately 150,000 envenoming cases per year in Brazil, of which 10% require antivenom treatment to reverse life-threatening venom effects. Therefore, thousands of T. serrulatus individuals are maintained under controlled captivity conditions for venom extraction, subsequently used in the production of the national supply of scorpion antivenom. Instituto Butantan is the main antivenom-manufacturing laboratory in Brazil, providing about 70,000 vials of scorpion antivenom for the Brazilian health system. Thus, the husbandry protocols and venom extraction methodologies are key points for the success of large-scale, standardized venom production. The objective of this article is to describe the captivity protocols of T. serrulatus husbandry, encompassing the husbandry routine and the venom extraction procedures, following good manufacturing practices, and ensuring animal welfare. These practices allow for the maintenance of up to 20,000 animals in captivity, with a routine of 3,000 to 5,000 scorpions milked monthly according to antivenom manufacturing demand, achieving an average of 90% of positive extraction.
蝎螫伤人是一些热带和亚热带国家的公共卫生问题。巴西黄蝎（Tityus serrulatus Lutz and Mello, 1922）每年在巴西造成约 15 万例螫伤，其中 10%需要使用抗蛇毒血清来逆转危及生命的毒液作用。因此，成千上万的 T. serrulatus 个体在受控的圈养条件下被饲养，用于提取毒液，随后用于生产国家供应的蝎抗蛇毒血清。布坦坦研究所是巴西主要的抗蛇毒血清生产实验室，为巴西卫生系统提供约 7 万支蝎抗蛇毒血清。因此，养殖方案和毒液提取方法是大规模标准化毒液生产成功的关键。本文的目的是描述 T. serrulatus 养殖的圈养方案，包括养殖常规和毒液提取程序，遵循良好生产规范，并确保动物福利。这些做法允许在圈养中维持多达 20000 只动物，根据抗蛇毒血清生产需求，每月有 3000 到 5000 只蝎子进行挤奶，平均阳性提取率达到 90%。
