**1. Introduction**

Although lepidopteran species are widely distributed around the world, only a few of them cause severe damage to humans or animals that have had contact with adult animal hairs (lepidopterism) or with the bristles of caterpillars (erucism) [1]. Locally, accidental contact with hair or bristles leads to a skin reaction, and systemic symptoms can be treated using oral antipruritic and antihistamines [2]. However, some caterpillar species of the *Lonomia* genus cause serious injuries, which are sometimes irreversible, leading to death. Patients that develop clinical manifestations of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and consumptive coagulopathy can progress to hemorrhagic syndrome with serious consequences if the antilonomic serum (ALS) produced by the Butantan Institute (SP/Brazil) is not administered in due time [3–8]. Although treatment with ALS is effective for *Lonomia*'s envenoming, deaths resulting from contact with caterpillars are still a public health problem in Brazil [9,10]. The literature reports that, between 2007 and 2017 a total of 42,264 accidents were caused by caterpillars in Brazil, among them 248 were severe cases and five evolved to deaths. Most accidents occurred in the states of south and southern Brazil between December and April, a period corresponding to an increase in temperature and rainfall [10].

**Citation:** Alvarez-Flores, M.P.; Gomes, R.N.; Trevisan-Silva, D.; Oliveira, D.S.; Batista, I.d.F.C.; Buri, M.V.; Alvarez, A.M.; DeOcesano-Pereira, C.; de Souza, M.M.; Chudzinski-Tavassi, A.M. *Lonomia obliqua* Envenoming and Innovative Research. *Toxins* **2021**, *13*, 832. https://doi.org/10.3390/ toxins13120832

Received: 16 October 2021 Accepted: 9 November 2021 Published: 23 November 2021

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Over the years, Brazil has gained significant knowledge in the field of toxinology that benefits the politics of public health. One example is the existence of Toxicological Information and Assistance Centers (CIATox), created for the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) to provide specific information on poisoning and treatment to health professionals and to the community. Furthermore, the creation of special programs and centers for research in the study of animal toxins contributed to the innovation in the development of new molecules derived from animal toxins or secretions, accelerating the interaction between science and industry. Therefore, this review highlights the current knowledge about *Lonomia* envenoming, as well as its treatment and already identified bioactive molecules, approaching the future perspectives on innovative research with new derived compounds as potential drugs for the treatment of inflammatory diseases (Figure 1).

**Figure 1.** Overview of *Lonomia obliqua* epidemiology, treatment, and research over the years. Since 1989, a burst of accidents with hemorrhagic manifestations were reported in Brazil to be caused by *L. obliqua* (Walker, 1855) (orange asterisks), mainly in Santa Catarina (SC), Rio Grande do Sul (RS), and Paraná (PR). In Venezuela and northern Brazil [Amapá (AP) and Pará (PA)], caterpillars were identified as *L. achelous* (Cramer) (red asterisks). Other cases were registered in the states of Goiás (GO), Minas Gerais (MG), São Paulo (SP), Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), and Rio de Janeiro (RJ) (orange asterisks). In 1996, an antivenom against *L. obliqua* toxins was developed [3]. Today, the treatment of patients is based on the administration of ALS, produced at the Butantan Institute, which has been shown to be effective in reversing hemostatic and hemorrhagic disorders. Photograph (Dr. Marlene Zannin) showing the reduction in hematuria of urine samples of a patient with treatment started with ALS after 24 h of having an accident with *L. obliqua* caterpillars. In 2000, the State of São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) started a program to create Research, Innovation, and Dissemination Centers (RIDC) leading to the creation of the "Center for Applied Toxinology (CAT)", the "Center of Toxins, Immune Response, and Cell Signaling (CETICS)", and the "Center of Excellence in New Target Discovery (CENTD)", with the latter aiming at not only the study of toxins from poisons and animal secretions, but also the development of new molecules based on toxins and, in public–private partnerships, their use as tools for studying molecular targets for several diseases.
