You cannot produce the right amount without knowing what you actually need
In a country where preventable deaths still occur from dog-transmitted rabies and venomous animal bites, Venezuela has invited the Pan American Health Organization to help close the gap between what is known and what is done. A technical mission in June 2026 assessed both threats with particular attention to rural populations who bear the heaviest burden, mapping not just the diseases but the systemic weaknesses that allow them to persist. The effort reflects a growing regional understanding that human health, animal health, and environment are not separate domains but a single, interconnected story.
- Rabies continues to claim lives in Zulia state despite the existence of effective vaccines and treatments, exposing a gap between available tools and their reach.
- Snakebites and scorpion stings strike hardest among agricultural workers in remote areas, where medical care is scarce and antivenin distribution is poorly matched to actual need.
- A joint review by PANAFTOSA and Brazil's Butantan Institute found Venezuela's envenomation response system fragmented — protocols unstandardized, data unintegrated, and production of antivenins disconnected from real epidemiological demand.
- A new working group under the Directorate General of Epidemiology is now tasked with consolidating strategic documents and updating clinical manuals with input from specialists in the highest-incidence regions.
- Venezuela's path forward hinges on a deceptively simple principle: concentrate resources where cases actually occur, and build the data systems that make that targeting possible.
In June 2026, Venezuela welcomed a technical mission from PAHO's PANAFTOSA center to confront two persistent public health threats: dog-transmitted rabies and the injuries caused by snakebites and scorpion stings. Working alongside Venezuela's Ministry of Health, the team assessed the country's current standing and identified where the response needed to be sharper.
Rabies remains active in Zulia state despite effective vaccines and post-exposure treatments. The mission found that surveillance systems needed reinforcing and that interventions should be concentrated in areas where cases actually occur, rather than spread thinly across the country.
The second focus — envenomation — receives far less global attention but causes serious suffering among rural and agricultural communities. A technical workshop brought together clinicians, national specialists, academic institutions, and antivenin manufacturers to align on diagnosis, treatment, and systematic case tracking. Experts from PANAFTOSA and Brazil's Butantan Institute reviewed Venezuela's entire snakebite response program and found a system with potential but lacking standardization, integrated data, and distribution logic tied to real need.
Biotecfar, Venezuela's antivenin producer, underscored a core problem: without reliable epidemiological data, it is impossible to produce the right products in the right quantities. The Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research added that bedside clinical observations must be connected to national-level data before treatment protocols can truly improve.
Venezuela left the mission with concrete commitments: a working group to consolidate strategic documents, follow-up visits from PANAFTOSA, and updated clinical manuals shaped by specialists from the regions where the burden falls heaviest. The effort signals a broader regional shift — treating rabies and envenomation not as isolated problems, but as part of a single, integrated system of human, animal, and environmental health.
In June 2026, Venezuela opened its doors to a technical mission from the Pan American Health Organization, a coordinated effort aimed at two persistent public health threats: rabies transmitted by dogs, and the cascade of injuries and deaths caused by snakebites and scorpion stings. The mission, led by PANAFTOSA—the Pan American Center for Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health—worked alongside Venezuela's Ministry of Health and local partners to assess where the country stood and chart a path forward on both fronts.
Rabies remains a preventable disease, yet Venezuela continues to record cases, particularly in Zulia state, where the virus still claims lives despite the existence of effective vaccines and post-exposure treatments. The technical team reviewed the strategies already in motion: ensuring people bitten or exposed receive prompt care, vaccinating the human population when needed, conducting mass vaccination campaigns for dogs, and mapping the geographic zones where risk runs highest. But the mission identified a critical gap: the country's epidemiological surveillance system needed strengthening, and the interventions themselves needed to be more precisely targeted. Rather than spreading resources thin across the entire country, officials agreed that future efforts should concentrate on the areas where cases actually occur.
The second half of the mission turned to a problem that receives far less international attention but causes substantial suffering in rural Venezuela: envenomation from snakes, scorpions, and other venomous creatures. These incidents strike hardest among agricultural workers and other vulnerable populations with limited access to medical care. The team convened a technical workshop bringing together clinicians, national specialists, academic institutions, and the manufacturers of antivenins—the life-saving serums that can reverse the effects of venom. The goal was to align everyone on how to diagnose these injuries, treat them, and track them systematically across the country.
Experts from PANAFTOSA and Brazil's Butantan Institute—one of the world's leading producers of antivenins—conducted a joint review of Venezuela's entire snakebite response program. What they found was a system with potential but in need of modernization. Protocols existed but lacked standardization. Records were kept but not integrated into a coherent epidemiological picture. Antivenins were produced and distributed, but without reliable data on actual need. The team identified concrete opportunities: establishing uniform clinical protocols, strengthening the systems that track and report cases, weaving together clinical and epidemiological information, and planning antivenin distribution based on where cases actually occur.
Biotecfar, the Venezuelan company responsible for producing antivenins and rabies serum, presented its own challenges and achievements. The company's representatives emphasized a fundamental truth: you cannot produce the right amount of the right products without knowing what you actually need. That requires epidemiological data—real numbers from real cases—not guesswork. The Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research added another layer: the clinical observations doctors make at the bedside need to be systematically connected to the epidemiological data collected at the national level. Only then can treatment protocols be refined and improved.
By the end of the mission, Venezuela had committed to concrete next steps. A working group, led by the Directorate General of Epidemiology, would take on the task of reviewing and consolidating the strategic documents that guide snakebite response. With PANAFTOSA's continued support, additional visits would follow to update the clinical manuals, operational guidelines, and standardized procedures that health workers use in the field. These updates would draw on the expertise of specialists and clinicians from the regions where snakebites and scorpion stings occur most frequently—the areas where the stakes are highest.
This mission reflects a broader shift in how the region approaches diseases that sit at the intersection of human health, animal health, and the environment. Rather than treating rabies and envenomation as separate problems, the Pan American Health Organization sees them as part of an integrated system. Strengthen one part, and you strengthen the whole. For Venezuela, the work ahead is substantial but now has a clearer direction.
Notable Quotes
Reliable epidemiological data is essential to estimate national needs and ensure production aligns with health system demands— Representatives of Biotecfar, Venezuela's antivenin and rabies serum producer
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does rabies still matter in Venezuela when we have vaccines that work?
Because having a vaccine and actually reaching everyone who needs it are two different things. Zulia state has active cases—people are still dying from a preventable disease. The mission found that Venezuela wasn't systematically identifying where cases occur or ensuring that exposed people get treated in time.
And the snakebite problem—is that also about access, or something else?
It's partly access, but it's also about not knowing what you're dealing with. Rural workers get bitten, but the cases aren't tracked systematically. Doctors don't have standardized protocols for treating different types of venom. And the company making antivenins doesn't have reliable data on how much of each type they actually need to produce.
So the mission was really about connecting the dots?
Exactly. Right now you have clinicians treating patients, epidemiologists collecting data, and manufacturers producing antivenins—but they're not talking to each other. The mission brought them into the same room and said: let's build a system where information flows, where protocols are consistent, where production matches actual need.
What happens if they don't make these changes?
People continue to die from preventable causes. Antivenins sit unused while other regions run short. Doctors treat the same conditions differently depending on where they work. It's inefficient and it costs lives.
Is this something Venezuela can actually do?
They've already committed to it. They're forming a working group, they're going to update their manuals, they're bringing in specialists from the regions where the problem is worst. It's not a quick fix, but it's a real plan.