Two
hundred and fifty victims of snake bite have died in the last three weeks in
Plateau and Gombe states, following an acute scarcity of snake anti-venom drugs
in the country.
The figure represents the number of confirmed
deaths from three snake treatment centres – General Hospital, Kaltungo, Ali
Mega Pharmacy, Gombe and Comprehensive Medical Centre, Zamko, Plateau State.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria
who visited the three medical outfits, met other victims in critical
situations, with some of them left on bare floors as the doctors said they were
helpless without the anti-venom.
NAN reports that the snake anti-venom drugs –
Echitab Plus ICP polyvalent and Echitab G monovalent – had not been supplied to
the country since August, throwing the treatment centres into crisis after the
last vials were used up in the first week of October.
Echitab Plus ICP, produced at Instituto
Clodomiro Picado, University of Costa Rica, treats bites from all venomous
snakes in Nigeria, while Echitab G, produced by Micropharm Ltd, United Kingdom,
is solely for carpet viper bites.
Medics, who spoke with NAN at the three
treatment centres, said that the cases of snake bites were usually very common
during the harvest season.
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