Captive Maintenance and Venom Extraction of Tityus serrulatus (Brazilian Yellow Scorpion) for Antivenom Production

This protocol describes the method to maintain scorpions for the extraction of high amounts of venom, which is used in the production of neutralizing equine-delivered immunoglobulins or antivenoms. There is a high demand for scorpion antivenom in tropical countries, which is the keystone for treating human envenomation cases. The maintainancy procedures reproduce optimal natural conditions, keeping the scorpions in captivity, thus with considering animal welfare and good laboratory practice.

In parallel, venom extraction is based on electrical stimulation in the scorpion telson, with minimal harmful effects on the animals. This protocol enabled us to increase exponentially the number of animals maintained in captivity, ranging from 4, 000 to 20, 000 individuals in 10 years. At the same time, venom has been extracted sufficiently to immunize horses to obtain plasma with the specific antibodies, which is the starting material for the manufacturing process that results in around 100, 000 vials of anti-venom per year.

The venom milking procedures different from others described in the literature in which the telson is removed, thus limiting the number of extraction per animal. The accumulated experience of the technicians of our facility allow us to extract venom from 200 to 300 animals in around 1 to 1 1/2 hours without anesthetizing the animals or making other invasive procedures.