Razia (pseudonym), a resident of a village on the outskirts of Islamabad, went to fetch water one evening in July this year, away from the slum, and while walking through the bushes, something bit her leg, causing her to feel excruciating pain. is
During the night the pain spreads throughout the leg, the wound enlarges and starts oozing water.
Mother-of-seven Razia, a domestic worker in a nearby sector, is told by her mistress that The snake There is a bite wound. She advises them to go to the nearest hospital, where even after two or three days of treatment, Afiqa does not recover.
Dr. Razia is sent to Pims Hospital in Islamabad, where she is bitten by snakes poison Vaccinations are given and they return home after recovery within a few days.
Zainab (pseudonym) of the same village is also bitten by a snake, but she prefers to seek treatment at a nearby hospital, causing the venom to spread throughout her body leading to her death.
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Zainab’s younger sister told Independent Urdu: ‘If my sister had been taken to Pims immediately, she would have been given snake venom injections and her life might have been saved.’
According to Hasan Ahmed Khan, head of the sera processing lab of the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad, ‘the only treatment for venomous snake bites is Antidote is to inoculate.’
The antidote for snake venom is prepared at the National Institute of Health.
Every year September 19 is celebrated as International Day to spread awareness about snakes, their venom and preventive measures in case of their bites.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) website: ‘Snake bite strategies require a systemic and multidisciplinary approach, which focuses on improving treatment and strengthening health systems, involving communities, Focuses on building partnerships and mobilizing resources. The strategy launched in 2019 has increased efforts to reduce snakebite losses, but more political, financial and overall efforts are needed.’
Deaths from snake bites
World Health Organization has declared snakebite to be an international health problem, affecting 40,000 people every year in Pakistan alone, of which 8,200 die.
About 70 percent of global snakebite deaths occur in South Asia.
According to the data of the World Health Organization, 5.4 million people are affected by snake bites in the world every year, while the death rate is 138,000 per year.
According to the National Disaster Management Authority, the highest number of snakebite deaths in Pakistan occurs in Sindh province, especially in the Thar desert, where rural areas have seen an increase in cases due to climate change and agricultural work.
A study looking at Tharparkar district of Sindh province revealed that increasing agricultural practices and low socioeconomic status lead to increased human-snake interactions.
Most snake bites occur during hot and rainy weather, when snakes are more active.
Dr Hussain, Principal Scientific Officer at the National Institute of Health, says that snakes or any other animals do not attack humans for no reason, but in most cases humans force them to do so.
“Man encroaches on the space of other animals, including snakes, by expanding their populations, and this process provokes them, causing them to attack.”
He further explained that in case of flood, water enters the shelters of all kinds of animals, especially snakes, and they come out and express their anger.
According to research, snake bites are often not reported in rural populations and hence the exact number of deaths due to snake bites is not known.
Currently, there is limited data on snake deaths, especially in rural areas of Pakistan.
Antidote for snake venom
According to Dr. Hasan Ahmed Khan of the National Institute of Health, the only treatment for snake envenomation is a drug vaccine (polyvalent antivenom), which is manufactured only at the NIH in Pakistan.
This medicine is an antidote to the poison of all poisonous soaps found in Pakistan.
Snake venom medicine manufactured at National Institute of Health (Screengrab / Independent Urdu)
Many substitutes for this drug manufactured in the National Institute of Health are also imported from abroad by private companies.
Hasan Ahmed Khan of the National Institute of Health claims that the NIH antidote is more effective than drugs imported from abroad.
‘Just two injections of our medicine are enough to neutralize the snake’s venom, while the foreign product requires 10, 10 injections.’
How to make an antidote
In the process of making the antidote, snake venom is first collected in the NIH’s Sierra Lab, cooled in the laboratory, turned into a powder, and made into small doses.
These doses of poison are injected into the horse’s body at regular intervals.
As soon as the poison enters the blood, the horse’s immune system begins to make antibodies against it, and when a certain amount is reached, the horse’s blood is drawn.
Through a complex and lengthy process in the laboratory, these antibodies are isolated from the horse’s blood, turned into antidotes, and sealed in small glass vials.
National Institutes of Health technicians remove a cobra snake from a closet before extracting the venom (Screengrab / Independent Urdu)
Snakes of Pakistan
According to a research paper, a total of 72 species of snakes are found in Pakistan, of which 40 are poisonous.
A venomous snake does not necessarily mean that the person bitten by it will die, but only for some time there may be itching or pain or some other minor discomfort around the wound or in the body.
Four of the most venomous snakes found in Pakistan are known as the ‘Big Four’. There is a possibility of loss of human life due to the bite of these snakes if not treated in time.
Among the Big Four are Common Krait, sa. Saw-Scaled Viper, Russel’s Viper and Indian Cobra are included.
Russell’s Viper
Russell’s viper is a highly venomous snake, found from Pakistan and India to Taiwan and Java. It often lives in open areas.
It is a major cause of snakebite deaths worldwide because it is often found in farmland, where it finds prey easily and the chances of human contact are high.
The viper’s body is up to about one and a half meters or five feet long and has three rows of reddish-brown spots with black and white circles on its body.
A female viper gives birth to up to 25 babies at a time.
A Russell’s Viper kept at the National Institute of Health (Screengrab / Independent Urdu)
According to a study published in Pharm Tales and Frances, a British platform for publishing scientific research papers, Russell’s viper venom contains a blood-thinning protein, which causes the breakdown of hemoglobin and platelets.
According to NIH’s Dr. Hasan, the snake’s venom thins human blood, causing bleeding from the victim’s ears, nose, and eyes.
Sa Scaled Viper
This snake is commonly known as jalebi snake because it can wrap its body in the form of a coil.
Dr. Hassan says that the venom of this snake also thins the human blood and blood starts leaking from different parts of the victim’s body.
kept at the NIH Serpentarium. Scaled or Jalebi Snake (Screengrab / Independent Urdu)
Sa The scaled viper is one of eight species of small venomous snakes, found in arid regions north of the equator, from Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and southwest Asia to India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
This snake has a robust body and a pear-shaped head, which can be 0.3 to 0.9 meters (one to three feet) long.
Its coloration consists of various shades of brown, gray, or orange with dark spots and background spots.
These snakes move their bodies sideways instead of upright and are usually seen at night, while their diet includes birds, lizards and frogs.
Common Crete
The common krait is a highly venomous snake of the subcontinent and a member of the ‘Big Four’. It is considered to be the snake that bites humans the most in Bangladesh and India.
The color of this snake is usually blue or black, while around 40 white circles can be seen around its body.
Sing Chor snake is the most venomous snake found in Pakistan (Screengrab / Independent Urdu)
These snakes are found from Sindh province to the Indian state of West Bengal, throughout southern India and Sri Lanka, while they have also been seen in Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Nepal.
These snakes live in a variety of habitats, including fields and scrub forests, semi-deserts, rocky areas, cultivated land, suburban gardens, and populated areas.
They rest in termite mounds, brick piles, rat holes and even inside houses. Common crickets are often found in water or near a water source.
According to Dr. Hassan, the venom of this snake affects the human nervous system, which can paralyze various organs.
The Indian Cobra
The Indian cobra is a species of highly venomous snake, found in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, as well as in Afghanistan.
Two cobra snakes housed in the National Institute of Health Serpentarium (Screengrab / Independent Urdu)
It lives in forests and fields as well as in settlements and eats rats, frogs, birds, lizards and other snakes as food. It bites and paralyzes its prey and swallows it whole.
Living for about 20 to 30 years, the Indian cobra is usually one to one and a half meters (3.3 to 4.9 ft) in length.
Every year at NIH, 100,000 antidote vaccines are produced, benefiting thousands of Pakistani citizens like Razia.
However, many Pakistanis like Zainab’s sister die from not getting the snake venom vaccine, and so the NIH is busy trying to double its production.
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2024-09-20 03:27:13
