SCORPION VENOM
FOR A NOVEL ANTI-CORONA VIRUS?
Scientists are working on the possibility of using Scorpion venom for a novel anti-corona virus, but in Sri Lanka a permit has not been extended to the Researchers at the University of Peradeniya by the Wildlife Department.
Professor Kithsiri Ranawana who heads the research programme said that he received a negative approach by the Wildlife Department Committee and also the Foreign Ministry that they had not replied to requests made by him. The research has been ongoing since 2015, but now it has been stalled as there is no extension of the permit from the Wildlife Department Committee to locate these Arthropods
Scorpions are one of the oldest animals on earth having existed for over 430 million years. Their venom had been used in traditional therapies since antiquity in many countries like China and India. They are in the class of Arthropods.
Giants among the scorpions include the black Emperor scorpion
(Pandinus imperator) an African species found in Guinea, which attains a body length of 7 inches and a mass of 60 grams. The longest scorpion in the world is the rock scorpion (Hadoenes troglodytes) of South Africa which attains about 8.3 incles. The smallest was found in Sri Lanka
Scorpions are an international trade, where they are given to Scorpion farms. Sri Lanka is the home to many more scorpion species never before described by Science and sparked calls for more research.
The Sri Lankan customs nabbed a Chinese national trying to smuggle 200 live scorpions out of the country in January 2010
According to Scientists, scorpions are destined to be farmed for their venom which would then be sold for medical research worldwide. It is not easy to extract venom from the scorpions as they only eject a single drop, and this requires the collection of more numbers to draw a considerable amount of venom.
Professor Mohammed Abdul Rahman of the Suez Canal University of the Department of Zoology in an article says that scorpions have not been fully studied and may represent an unorthodox source of new medicines
Professor Kithsiri Ranawana who heads this research said that collaborators came to the country under Business or Tourist visas to study the scorpions, but since this cannot proceed in this manner, the researchers called for a permit for research specimen to be exchanged and for collaborators to come to Sri Lanka for their study, but the original permit has not been extended or were not issued.
Professor Ranawana of the Department of Zoology of the Faculty of Science at the University of Peradeniya said that the Red Scorpion (Hottenttota tamulus ) found in the Jaffna district is highly venomous. He said that without a permit from the Department of Wildlife, he is not going to take a risk to find or detect the scorpions as he does not want to take a risk to work on these specimens without an extended permit from the Department of Wildlife for the transport and collection of specimens.
No museum specimens of this species was available in Sri Lanka before the Sri Lankan researchers had found specimens. But comparative studies could not be made and they were forced to seek outside assistance, and specimens were sent to the expert consultant Frantisek Kovarik in the Czech Republic who confirmed the species as ‘Hottentotta tumulus’ in the family of ‘Buthidae’. Kovarik is the leading expert on Scorpions in the world now.
The first specimens came from Jaffna sent by Professor S.A.M. Kularatne of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Peradeniya to Professor Ranawana to be identified. This was the beginning of the research.
Professor Ranawana said that the research is done to get more involved in the research programme and also to allow the new undergraduates into this field of research. The Red Scorpion is deadly as the krait in Sri Lanka which is more venomous than the krait in Indian soil.
Scorpion venoms have not yet been fully studied and may represent an unorthodox source of new medicines according to an article by Professor Rahman. The Suez Canal University collaborates with the University of Aberdeen in the United Kingdom in the study of Scorpions.
The collection of scorpions are done under the ‘Convention on Biological Diversity and following the Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from utilization.
There had been an increasing interest of scorpions as there had been several deaths and the chief cause was the Red Indian Scorpion brought into the country by the IPKF to Jaffna. The Jaffna Scorpion was not found in Sri Lanka previouly, but found in India and Pakistan.
The researchers recognized the need of a proper survey on Scorpions. Professor Ranawana and Kovarik decided to carry out island wide surveys. The first was carried out in 2015 and the second in 2018
The species commonly known in India as the “Indian Red Scorpion, would be the sixteenth species of scorpion found in Sri Lanka according to the researchers
Preliminary investigations revealed the specimens collected from the Jaffna District possessed 31 pectinal teeth, while the Sri Lankan variety did not possess more than 25
With these two surveys, they came across a new scorpion species. They are new to science. All of them are found only in Sri Lanka. Chamus Saruduk was found by researcher Sanjeewa Jayaratne in a pile of wood near his home.
They have ruled out the possibility of the species being introduced into the country by the LTTE.
Attention was drawn to this new variety of scorpions when a number of persons in the Jaffna District died of its sting.
Records maintained by Dr. Sivanasuthan of the Teaching Hospital in Jaffna and the treatment of a number of patients stung by this vicious scorpion revealed several deaths.
According to his records, 12 children died of the scorpion sting in 2003. Thereafter one death a year of scorpion stings was recorded in 2006, 2007 and 2009.
Statistics maintained by him indicate eighty deaths between January 2012 and February 2013. Of these, fiftytwo percent were among females and forty-two percent were male. Thirty percent of the deaths occurred among children between the ages of three and twelve.
Concerned with the growing numbers affected by scorpion stings, Dr. Sivanasuthan commenced collecting clinical specimens and epidemiological data of scorpion stings and worked in collaboration with Professor Kularatne.
However, there was no proper determination of the species –despite its venomous attacks and the way in which it, specimens were forwarded to the Department of Zoology of the University of Peradeniya for identification.
Five live and three dead specimens of the ‘White Scorpions’ from Pallai, Achchuveli and Karainagar which differed from the common Sri Lankan black scorpion were handed over to Professor Kithsiri Ranawana of the Department the Zoology of the University of Peradeniya and taken to the wildlife laboratory of the department for identification.
Preliminary investigations revealed the specimens collected from the Jaffna District possessed 31 pectinal teeth, while the Sri Lankan variety did not possess more than 25.
The external anatomical features led researchers Professor Ranawana and his research assistant Ironie Nagasena to recognize that similarities existed to the species ‘Hottenotta tumulus’ in India as described by scientist F. Kovarik in 2007. They also recognized the species were a recent introduction to the country.
The species commonly known in India as the “Indian Red Scorpion, would be the sixteenth species of scorpion found in Sri Lanka according to the researchers.
A study on the species was published in an occasional publication titled “Euscorpius” in March 2013. Among the researchers involved were Professor Kithsiri B.ranawana, Dr. Nandana P. Dinamithra , Dr. Sivapalan Sivanasimtjan, Ironie I. Nagasena, Frantilek Kovarik and Professor SAM Kularatne.
The Department of Wildlife seems to have not taken the scorpion seriously and they should have extended support to the team of researchers and provided them the required assistance.