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Aussie scientists develop new anti-venom to save pets from snakebites

Xinhua, July 8, 2016 Adjust font size:

Australian scientists have developed a new anti-venom treatment which will help save thousands of household pets from deadly snakebites.

Researchers from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), Australia's peak scientific research body, have produced a more effective and lower cost anti-venom that will help reduce the number of deaths among dogs and cats bitten by venomous snakes in Australia.

Australia is home to 10 of the most venomous snakes in the world, and bitten pets are often unable to be saved as current treatments can be expensive, ineffective and difficult to access.

CSIRO scientists worked with small biotech company in regional Victoria to produce the treatment of venomous snakebites from the Eastern Brown and Tiger snakes.

Andrew Padula from Padula Serums, said the partnership with CSIRO helped turn his new anti-venom idea into a reality.

"I've been working on anti-venom serums for dogs and cats for a while now but I really needed the expert equipment and skills of the CSIRO scientists to make the best product possible," Padula said in a media release on Friday.

It is estimated by CSIRO that thousands of cats and dogs are bitten by snakes in Australia each year.

One of CSIRO's professors, George Lovrecz, from the manufacturing team, said this new anti-venom was more effective than those currently available on the market, as it had been created as a purified and concentrated full-tested anti-venom which was ready to be injected into snake-bitten dogs.

"We used the latest technologies to make sure that the anti-venom is not only safe and effective but it's also a lot cheaper to produce compared to existing products," Lovrecz said on Friday.

Once the final testing of the product has been completed and the anti-venom has been given the green light for sale from the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, it will become available on the market and will be used by vets around the country.

The new anti-venom treatment could also be used for treating humans with snakebites, or against the toxins of paralyzing ticks. Endit