The history of scorpion serum in Turkey

OpenAlex · English

Scorpions are arthropods covered with a thick layer of chitin, whose adult individuals have a length between 11.5 and 220 mm. Since they cause situations of poisoning and due to their predatory nature, humans usually fear them. In scorpion envenomation, it is necessary to apply anti-venom especially for patients with severe symptoms. Turkey is a suitable country for scorpion life in terms of climate. Today, it is reported in the world that there are 2512 species of scorpions in terms of 21 families and 195 genera. In addition, when the recent increase is taken into account, it is reported that the number of Scorpion species in Turkey has reached 50 and will continue to increase. Although the most venomous scorpion species known in Turkey is Leirus abdullahbayrami, scorpion anti-venom is obtained from Androctonus crassicauda. The studies show that the antivenom from A. crassicauda in Turkey which had been produced in a continuous manner since 1942 gave better results than other anti-venoms. A. crassicauda, which is shown as one of the five most poisonous scorpions in the world, is about 90 to 100 mm in length, has dark brown or black color, and has claws which are very chunky and a very curved tail. It is one of the most important species regarding medical terms in Turkey. A. crassicauda