Antivenom For Dogs Australia

In victoria they will use a combination brown and tiger snake anti venom.

Antivenom for dogs australia.

T he effect of snake bites on humans in australia is well documented. Aust vet j1998 76 195 198 key words. All dogs and cats that are bitten on the tongue or on the torso regardless of the type of snake involved. Ventilatory support is frequently required for 6 8 hr in animals experiencing australian elapid envenomation.

Cats puppies and adult dogs that weigh less than 20 lbs and are bitten by a rattlesnake or a cottonmouth. There will be a rise in snake bite fatalities if regional hospitals do not maintain appropriate stocks of antivenom the head of the australian venom research unit warns. Animals bitten by elapids may be treated with supportive care as needed iv fluids ventilatory support anticonvulsants etc and antivenom antivenin if available. Additional vials of antivenom can reduce ventilator time.

Administration and dosage the dose varies from 10 to 50 ml 1 to 5 vials intravenously of rehydrated antivenin depending on the severity of symptoms lapse of time after the bite size of snake and size of. Next try to reduce the dog s movement as much as possible since this can slow down the speed at which the venom travels through its body. On the other hand dogs who suffer from very serious bites may require life support surgery and or special medication called antivenom. In australia there are about 3 000 snake bites per year resulting in about 500 hospital admissions weldon 2017.

On average two per yearwill prove fatal. It is made injecting a minute quantity of snake venom into the blood stream of a big animal such as a horse or sheep. Snake bite dog cat antivenom. Kitchin said one dose of the combined tiger and brown snake anti venom commonly used in victoria currently costs about 700.

One dose of tiger snake anti venom costs the same. To treat a dog for a snakebite in australia help your dog lay down on a soft blanket or towel and speak to it in a soothing voice to keep it calm. Antivenom is a drug designed to counteract the effects of snake venom. In other states if the species of the snake is not known they will apply a polyvalent anti venom.

Some patients require multiple vials of antivenom. About half the deaths are due to bites from the brown snake. The rest mostly from tiger snake taipan and death adder. For use in dogs which have received bites from viperine snakes such as rattlesnakes copperheads and cottonmouth water moccasins.

Sutherland1 claimed that in a 10 year period between 1981 and 1991 11 of 18 deaths caused. Treatment usually consists of intravenous fluids and the administration of antivenom to neutralise the snake venom in the pet s body.