Appraisal of antivenom production in public laboratories in Latin America during the first semester of 2020: The impact of COVID-19

The survey included the following aspects: (a) What was the demand and the production of antivenoms (including snake, scorpion, spider, and caterpillar antivenoms) during the period January 2020 to July 2020? (b) What was the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic in (i) the number of professional and technical staff working to manufacture antivenom, (ii) acquisitions of consumables and laboratory equipment, (iii) overall budget devoted to antivenom manufacture, and (iv) attention to the COVID-19 crisis in terms of development of therapeutic equine preparations against Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), preparation of diagnostic reagents, quality control activities, or assignment of staff to attend other pandemic issues? (c) Which are the priorities of the laboratories in the near future regarding regional cooperation in the field of antivenom manufacture and quality control? [...]an overall reduction was observed for the region during the first half of 2020. In terms of the priority needs of the laboratories for the near future, the following aspects were identified in the survey: (i) implementation of a study on the preclinical efficacy of antivenoms distributed in Latin America; (ii) training of technical and professional staff in aspects related to antivenom production and quality control and implementation of GMPs; (iii) improvements in immunization schemes and innovations in the use of adjuvants; (iv) analysis of the situation of infrastructure and equipment in the laboratories; (v) pharmacovigilance of antivenoms; and (vi) translation to Spanish and Portuguese and distribution of the WHO guidelines for antivenom production and quality control [2]. [...]the survey identified a series or priority actions required to improve the landscape of antivenom manufacture, control, and availability in the region.