Alarm sounded about lack of snakebite antivenom in SA

The shortage of snakebite antivenom in South Africa was cause for serious concern, as it threatened the lives of animals and humans, according to Johan Marais, CEO of the African Snakebite Institute.

“Antivenom has been practically unavailable in South Africa for the past eight months. This has had a dire effect on humans and animals, as the same antivenom is used for both.

“We’ve been inundated by reports of shortages from veterinarians and the impact the scarcity is having on livestock,” Marais told Farmer’s Weekly.

He said that the state-owned South African Vaccine Producers (SAVP) was responsible for manufacturing monovalent antivenom, which was effective against boomslang venom; and polyvalent antivenom, effective against the venom of the puff adder, gaboon viper, black and green mambas, rinkhals, and all significantly dangerous cobras in Southern Africa.

The SAVP, the only snakebite antivenom producer in Southern Africa, had fallen behind in its production of polyvalent antivenom, which was responsible for treating the bites of at least 10 species of venomous snake found in the region, Marais said.

The fact that doctors and veterinarians were unable to obtain polyvalent antivenom was a “major disaster” not only for South Africa, but also for other Southern African countries that were dependent on South Africa for their antivenom supplies.

“We’ve now reached the stage where the [SAVP] only makes antivenom available for emergencies. The problem is that the company only operates from Monday to Friday. Therefore, snakebite victims will have to wait a day or two for treatment over weekends.

“I don’t know the reasons behind the lack of antivenom, but I do know that it’s a matter of life and death,” he said.

Asked about the possible privatisation of antivenom production, Marais said this was highly unlikely, as antivenom production was capital-intensive and not very profitable.