TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The Goa Medical College and Hospital is struggling to replenish its supply of anti-venom vials since the supplier has expressed inability to supply the life saving drugs amidst a nation wide shortage, forcing it to explore the option of importing it.
Owing to the shortage, GMC’s stocks are running low and officials are moving frantically to ensure that they have stocks. “There is a nationwide shortage of the anti-venom. We are trying to get supplies,” Medical Superintendent Dr Sunanda Amonkar said.
She said that the importing option was also being explored.
According to GMC doctors, it is absolutely necessary that a person who has been bitten by a poisonous snake be administered with anti-venom as soon as possible, or else a tragedy is almost certain.
The manufacture of anti-venom is still a complicated procedure that was developed more than 100 years ago. It involves injecting snake venom into a horse, sheep or goat depending on the nature of the poison, waiting for the immune system of the animal to produce antibodies, extracting that blood and then processing it for human use.
