KATHMANDU, Aug. 12: Nepal is set to receive 13,200 vials of anti-snake venom (ASV) this week as the government moves to ensure uninterrupted treatment amid concerns over a shortage of the lifesaving medicine.
The Epidemiology and Disease Control Division (EDCD) said 2,400 vials of ASV are currently in stock across the country, enough to meet demand for the next few weeks.
Dr Amrit Pokharel, chief of the EDCD’s outbreak management section, said 800 of the 2,400 vials have been reserved for the Tarai region. He said the existing stock is expected to last for several weeks, while preparations are underway to procure additional supplies from India within a week.
Vials of anti-venom distributed
Dr Sanjib Kumar Sharma, a snakebite expert at B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, said an emergency discussion was held among concerned agencies on Wednesday after reports of an ASV shortage surfaced.
According to Sharma, consultations with stakeholders across the country showed that the existing stock would be sufficient to treat snakebite patients for another month. He said the EDCD is preparing to procure additional supplies from India, indicating that there is currently no immediate risk of patients being denied treatment due to a shortage of ASV.
Pokharel said the current stock is sufficient to treat around 2,000 patients.
Sharma said the snake species found in Nepal and India are similar, and ASV effective against these species is produced in India.
Dr Anuj Bhattachan, director of the EDCD, said the procurement process has already moved forward and that efforts are underway to ensure the medicine is supplied as soon as possible.
Dr Chetan Nidhi Wagle, an official at the division, said an international tender had been invited for the procurement of ASV and that the process had reached its final stage. According to him, 13,200 vials have been procured this year, and the supplier has assured that the consignment will arrive within this week.
He added that the division has also been dispatching ASV to areas experiencing shortages.
