Journal article
Antivenom production in the alpaca (Vicugna pacos): Monovalent and polyvalent antivenom neutralisation of lethal and procoagulant toxins in Australian elapid venoms
AM Padula, KD Winkel
Small Ruminant Research | ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV | Published : 2017
Abstract
Alpaca (Vicugna pacos), like all other members of the camelid family, produce a unique heavy chain only IgG subclass. This form of IgG has been proposed as having superior neutralising properties and improved safety as compared with conventional mammalian IgG-based immunotherapeutics. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential of alpaca antibodies to neutralise the lethal and procoagulant properties of several Australian elapid snake venoms. Various experimental antivenoms were produced by immunisation of alpaca (Vicugna pacos) with combinations of five Australian elapid snake venoms: tiger snake (Notechis scutatus), eastern brown snake (Pseudonaja textilis), Papuan taipan ..
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Funding Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and financial support of the Australian Alpaca Association and Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. KDW is supported by funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council. Thank you to Frank Madaras, Peter Mirtschin and Tim Kuchel for advice with various technical aspects of snake venom research. Thank you to staff at Bairnsdale Animal Hospital - Kylee, Lisa, Debbie and Stephanie for putting your time into this project. In particular AP would like to thank Allan Quirke for the hours of helping with the field work with the alpaca.