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Existing antivenom therapy for snakebite inefficient: IISc study
Why is it in news?
- A new study has revealed that commercially available antivenom in India can be ineffective in treating bites from some snakes that are poorly studied.
- The study was conducted by scientists from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), Bengaluru, in collaboration with the Gerry Martin Project and the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust and Centre for Herpetology.
More in news
- Key findings of the study
(1) The results revealed dramatic differences in venom compositions of snakes, and that venom composition differed between geographically separated populations of the same species.
(2) The team evaluated how effective commercially marketed Indian antivenoms were in treating snakebites from the neglected species, and found that the antivenoms were “highly inefficient” in overcoming the effects of the toxins.
- Snake bites in India
(1) India is the snakebite capital of the world. Annually, about 46,000 people die and 1,40,000 others are disabled in the country because of snakebites.
(2) Antivenom in India: In India, a polyvalent antivenom is produced against the so-called ‘big four’ snakes: the spectacled cobra, the common krait, Russell’s viper, and the saw-scaled viper.
(3) India is home to many other species of venomous snakes that have the potential to inflict deadly, even fatal bites — about 60 of the 270 species are considered ‘medically important’
Source
The Hindu