Antivenom is in short supply in South Africa, claims Johan Marais, CEO of the African Snakebite Institute.
For the previous eight months, antivenom has been essentially unavailable in South Africa. Since the same antivenom is used for both animal and human species, this has had a terrible impact on both.
In an interview with Farmer’s Weekly, Marais stated, “We have been besieged with complaints of the shortages from vets and the effects the scarcity has on farm animals and cattle.”
Monovalent antivenom, which was effective against the boomslang venom, as well as polyvalent antivenom, which was used to counteract the venom of the puff adder, gaboon adder, black and green mambas, the rinkhals, and all significantly dangerous cobras in Southern Africa, were both produced by the state-owned South African Vaccine Producers (SAVP), located in Johannesburg. Most snakebites in the nation were caused by the puff adder and night adder.
“In order to treat the bites of at least 10 venomous snakes found in the area, polyvalent antivenom, which was produced by the SAVP, the only producer of snakebite antivenom in Southern Africa, had fallen behind,” said Marais.
The inability of doctors and veterinarians to obtain the polyvalent antivenom, he continued, was a “major disaster,” not only for South Africa but also for other Southern African nations that relied on the regional antivenom supply.