Government plans local production of antivenom

The Ministry of Health is planning to produce antivenom domestically through the state-owned Essential Drugs Company, aiming to reduce reliance on imports and improve treatment for snakebite victims.

Health Adviser Nurjahan Begum told The Business Standard on Thursday that antivenom is currently not produced in Bangladesh, despite the country having many native snake species. 

"There are some differences among the snakes of Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, so even if imported antivenom is given, it is often not possible to save the patient. Therefore, if we can produce antivenom ourselves, people will benefit if we subsidise it, even if it is not cost-effective. We are also considering how to make it cost-effective," she said.

She added that the current price of a single antivenom injection is Tk12,000.

"We can provide four to five antivenoms to upazila hospitals. When the number of snakebite patients increases in some places, a crisis arises. Patients often die due to a lack of antivenom, and sometimes they die even after being given antivenom due to the variety of the snake. If we produce antivenom ourselves, our capacity will increase."

Notably, snakebites result in thousands of deaths nationwide every year. In the last two weeks, five people died from snakebites in Thakurgaon.

The most recent victim, Sakibul Islam, a fifth-grade student from Kadamtola village in Baliadangi upazila, died on 8 August after being bitten by a venomous snake.

He was taken to several hospitals, none of which had antivenom in stock. He died on the way to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital.

Thakurgaon Civil Surgeon Dr Md Anisur Rahman said that even after requesting supplies from the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD), no antivenom was received.

"We are trying to get the antivenom quickly," he said.

According to the "National Survey on Annual Incidence and Epidemiology of Snakebite in Bangladesh", around four lakh people are bitten by snakes each year, resulting in more than 7,500 deaths.

About one-fourth of these cases involve venomous snakes, with 10.6% of victims suffering physical disabilities and 1.9% experiencing mental disabilities.

The study also found that 95% of snakebite cases occur in rural areas, with men four times more likely to be affected than women.

The same study notes that no antivenom is currently produced locally, despite the high rate of deaths. Annually, about 2,500 cattle also die due to snakebites in Bangladesh.