Anti-snake venom: DUHS optimistic about meeting its target in Sindh on time

The vaccine will be very effective as it is being produced for local species, say officials.

KARACHI: In only a few months, the anti-snake venom being produced by the Department of Laboratory of Animal Sciences of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) is expected to meet the target of snakebite cases in Sindh.

Officials of the laboratory claimed that almost all the required procedures had been completed and according to the head of the laboratory and associate professor, Dr Zameer Ahmed, the production of the laboratory would be up to 5,000 vials per month. “The provincial annual demand can be easily met. The anti-venom will be very effective because its entire focus has been on species found in Sindh,” he claimed.



The laboratories of Brazil and Islamabad, which tested the samples, also expressed their satisfaction with the production by giving it approval.

Although the DUHS laboratory has successfully tested its production on two snakebite cases, Islamabad has asked that it test over at least 20 people.

Islamabad has also asked for a third clinical test which DUHS officials believe will be approved successfully within the next 15 days. “The clinical trial is in its final phase and once we get the approval from Islamabad, we will start its production,” said DUHS’ Pro-Vice Chancellor Muhammad Umar Farooq.

Over three years, the DUHS completed its infrastructure where horses, rabbits, mice, sheep and monkeys were kept according to their scientific requirements.

Not good enough

The current snakebite vaccine being used is imported from India, Iran, Saudi Arabia and also Islamabad’s laboratory, but officials in the health department said that the imported vaccine wasn’t effective while the one from Islamabad couldn’t meet the provincial target.

“The imported ones are expensive and not available in rural areas,” said Dr Ahmed. “Hundreds of snakebite cases are reported in rural areas, with the highest number reported from Tharparkar. Our product is not only effective but costs less and could save hundreds of lives on time.”

Dr Ahmed informed that the vaccine of DUHS’s laboratory was effective for cases of local species, including Cobra, Russle Viper and Krait. “This medicine is counted among the life-saving drugs and we have to make sure it is available in all hospitals where more cases are reported,” he suggested.

Dr Ahmed and his team also claimed that they had identified poison of Asian species, adding that his laboratory could easily produce vaccine of all species. “The snakebite cases of Indian Cobra are also reported in Tharparkar and we have also identified its.”

On the other hand

The Sindh Health Director General Dr Ashfaque Memon, however, did not agree that there was shortage of vaccines at the moment. According to him, around 10,000 snakebite cases emerge from Sindh in a year - out of which 4,000 cases are in Tharparkar, 2,000 in Umerkot and rest in other districts of Sindh.

He endorsed Dr Ahmed’s claim that Islamabad couldn’t meet the target, saying that the vaccine from India and Korea available in open market were being used in Sindh. “The Indian vaccine is not as effective as of Islamabad.”

Other sources from the health department informed The Express Tribune that there was a technical issue in the production and that the anti-venom would be verified from a reputable institute. “It is a life-saving drug and it needs to be verified thoroughly before being used,” sources justified.

The provincial health department has written a letter to DUHS, dated September 10, to share the scientific data of the new product. Dr Memon confirmed sending the letter, saying, “We will definitely give them priority and purchase vaccines from them.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 13^th, 2013.