Archive photo (Photo: Lowveld Venom Suppliers/Facebook)
Following reports of a looming disaster due to the shortage of polyvalent snake antivenom, the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) now says there is no reason to panic. “On the contrary, production has been increased since December last year,” this service said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the NHLS, he distributed a total of 1,422 doses of antidote across the country between December 1 last year and March 31 this year and still has doses that are currently in the production phase. A total of 1,077 anti-venom doses have been distributed since Monday and a limited number of doses are also being kept for emergencies.
The NHLS does admit that load shedding has an influence on the manufacturing process of the antidote, but believes that South Africans should not panic despite these challenges.
A group of 27 experts in the field of snakebite treatment wrote an open letter to Dr. Joe Phaahla, the Minister of Health, to plead for intervention in the power problem to prevent the shortage of antidote from heading for disaster.
As earlier report consistent and reliable power supply is needed to manufacture antidote and the constant switching to generators during power outages slows down the manufacturing process.
The laboratory service says its investment in backup power systems and renewable energy sources will enable it to meet the energy needs of the manufacturing process.
“The backlog in the supply of antidote – which is there due to the delay in the manufacturing process – should be significantly reduced within a month. We hope that the production rate will return to normal after two months,” the NHLS said on Wednesday afternoon.
“We also manage, monitor and actively work on emergency measures, as well as on the development of solutions to overcome current bottlenecks caused by energy interruptions.”
Antidote is produced in Johannesburg by the South African Vaccine Producers (SAVP), which is a subsidiary of the NHLS.
However, a possible crisis is already looming for almost a yearwith veterinarians warning that pets in particular can die due to a lack of antidote.
