Study: Local anti-snake venom cheaper, more effective

High imports from India due to low domestic production.

ISLAMABAD:

A study reveals that anti snake venom (ASV) made by Pakistan National Institute for Health (PNIH) is 2.5 times cheaper and more effective than the ASV imported from India.

A press release issued by Pakistan Medical Research Council (PMRC) on Friday states that the research was carried out on 80 snake bite cases at two trial sites of Mirpur Khas, with each site having 40 cases. Total ASV doses — given to achieve coagulation, reaction and cost — were analysed to assess the response and cost effectiveness of both.

Six patients were excluded from the study due to incomplete records and tests, making 74 cases eligible for analysis, out of which 38 received Pakistani ASV and 36 received Indian ASV. Blood coagulation was achieved with the first dose in 23 cases receiving Pakistani ASV and 13 cases receiving the Indian ones. A mean of 1.66 per dose of Pakistani ASV was required to achieve coagulation compared to 1.94 per dose of Indian ASV, according to the study.

The research found that the median cost of Pakistani ASV per vial was Rs 700 and with 4 vials per dose it was calculated as Rs2,800 per dose. For the Indian ASV, the median cost per vial was found to be Rs1,500 and for 4 vials per dose it was Rs 6000.

Snakes bite victim rates in interior Sindh rises during the rainy season and floods put the rural population and agricultural workers at risk. ASVs are imported in Pakistan from India as indigenous production is low, with PNIH being the only authorised site for its production.

The PMRC study on the cost effectiveness of Pakistani Anti Snake Venom has seen published in Journal of Pakistan Medical Association in the September 2013 issue.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 7^th, 2013.