Snakebites

Background

While 2.5 million envenomings and 130,000 deaths occur globally due to snakebites, with 1 million envenomings and 30,000 deaths in sub-Saharan Africa, the accessibility of antivenom for treatment of snakebites remain limited. The Inoserp® Pan-Africa antivenom is being used in many African countries including Cameroon but there is few data on its efficacy or tolerance in those settings. We therefore aim to evaluate the tolerance and efficacy of the Inoserp® Pan-Africa antivenom (AVS) in Cameroon.

Primary Objective

Estimate the short-term (2 hours after administration) clinical tolerance of the Inoserp® Pan-Africa AVS from Inosan

Secondary Objectives

• Evaluate the medium-term (3 and 15 days after administration) clinical tolerance of the AVS
• Evaluate the short- and medium-term efficacy of the AVS
• Describe clinical profile of patients with snakebites
• Describe the death rate and disability caused by snakebites

Methods

We performed a pharmacovigilance study and included participants 5 years and above with snakebites in 14 healthcare centers across 6 of the 10 regions of Cameroon. Participants with envenomation were treated with Inoserp AVS and followed-up for 3 days in the hospital and 15 more days at home. The main study endpoints were complete follow-up to day 15, occurrence of adverse events, including disability or death.

Preliminary safety results

Between October 15, 2019 and April 30, 2021, we included 427 participants with snakebites. Echis ocellatus (43.3%) was the most incriminated. Most frequent signs at admission were pain and edema with 90.9% (388/427) and 75.2% (321/427) respectively. We administered AVS to 81.3% (347/427) of patients with an average dose of 2 doses of AVS. Coagulation disorders was present in 50.4% (215/427) of the participants. We reported 12 deaths (2.7%); none were imputed to the administration of AVS. According to preliminary analysis necessitating confirmation, we observed at least one mild or moderate adverse event in 75 of 347 patients (21.6%), including tachypnea, tachycardia and bradycardia.

Who's Involved Besides MSF?

Cameroon Society of Epidemiology (CASE) and the Ministry of Public Health (MINSANTE), Institut Pasteur de Paris

Country

Cameroon

Our Role

Coordinator

For more information contact: Fai Karl