The Clodomiro Picado Institute (ICP) of the University of Costa Rica (UCR) alerted the national population about the sale of an antivenom serum that would be ineffective in the face of snake bites in the country.
This was announced by the entity on Wednesday. According to the specialists of the ICP, it is a veterinary serum imported from Brazil, which does not have a sanitary registry.
In addition, they indicated that they do not have analyzes that demonstrate the effectiveness of the product against poisonous snakes in Costa Rica. The alert is made mainly for the livestock sector, since the velvet snake (Bothrops asper) causes most cases of poisoning in cattle.
The intravenous administration of a specific antidote is the only effective and scientifically validated treatment that allows saving the lives of animals that have suffered moderate and severe poisonings due to velvet snake bites,”
explained the Institute.
The ICP said that the serum is called Master Soro and was manufactured against poisons from the Brazilian snake species Bothrops jararaca, Crotalus durissus terrificus and Lachesis Muta. These species are not present in Costa Rica.
The Quality Control Laboratory of the ICP performed comparative tests and concluded that the potency of the South American serum for the venom of the velvet snake is more than six times lower than that of the serum produced in Costa Rica.