Researchers from the Serum Institute of India (SII) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) have shown that purifying commercial antivenoms available in Indian markets can make them more potent and thus save more lives of snakebite victims.
About snakebite
- India is home to over 300 species of snakes. Of these, only around 60 described snake species are capable of causing harm to humans.
- Over 58,000 people die in India every year from snakebites and three times the number suffer permanent disabilities due to snakebites.
- The existing Indian antivenoms are produced exclusively against the ‘big four’ Indian snakes: the spectacled cobra (Naja naja), common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) and saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus).
- Bites by venomous snakes can cause paralysis that may prevent breathing, bleeding disorders that can lead to a fatal haemorrhage, irreversible kidney failure and tissue damage that can cause permanent disability and limb amputation.
- On June 9, 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) included snakebite into the list of ‘Neglected Tropical Diseases’.
(Source: DTE)
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