{"id":35973,"date":"2025-01-22T20:53:51","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T15:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=35973"},"modified":"2025-01-22T20:53:53","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T15:23:53","slug":"antivenoms-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/22-01-2025\/antivenoms-in-india","title":{"rendered":"Accessibility of Antivenoms in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/ Health<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Despite being the largest producer and consumer of antivenoms, India accounts for almost 50% of global snakebite deaths.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Snakebite Envenoming&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The snakebite envenoming (poisoning from snake bites) was classified by the <strong>World Health Organisation (WHO)<\/strong> as a high-priority neglected tropical disease.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An estimated <strong>1.8 \u2013 2.7 million <\/strong>people worldwide are envenomed annually.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Snake Bites in India: <\/strong>In India, around <strong>90% of snake bites <\/strong>are caused by the <strong>&#8216;big four&#8217;<\/strong> among the crawlers &#8211; <strong>common krait, Indian cobra, Russell&#8217;s viper and saw scaled viper.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>In India, around<strong> 58,000 deaths<\/strong> occur of an estimated 3-4 million snake bites annually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Strategy for developing anti-venom<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Antivenoms: <\/strong>Antivenoms are purified antibodies designed to neutralize venoms or specific venom components. They are produced using antibodies generated by animals that have been injected with controlled doses of venom.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>They are included in the <strong>WHO Essential&nbsp; Medicines List.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Antivenoms making process:<\/strong> To make life-saving antivenoms, scientists enlist the help of <strong>horses<\/strong> that live on specialized ranches.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The animals are injected with a tiny, harmless dose of venom, which causes their immune systems to produce antibody proteins that attack and disable the venom toxins.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then the antibodies are collected and used to treat people who have been bitten or stung.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img data-dominant-color=\"dfdad9\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"472\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-antivenom-is-made-1-472x1024.webp\" alt=\"how-antivenom-is-made\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-35975\" style=\"--dominant-color: #dfdad9; width:316px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-antivenom-is-made-1-472x1024.webp 472w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-antivenom-is-made-1-138x300.webp 138w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2025\/01\/how-antivenom-is-made-1.webp 499w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 472px) 100vw, 472px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges in Accessing Antivenoms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Geographical Barriers: <\/strong>Remote areas lack nearby healthcare facilities with antivenom supplies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Limited Venom Coverage: <\/strong>Indian antivenoms primarily target the &#8220;<strong>big four&#8221;<\/strong> snakes <strong>(cobra, krait, Russell\u2019s viper, and saw-scaled viper).<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Other venomous species, such as the king cobra and pit vipers, remain uncovered, leading to ineffective treatment and poor outcomes for victims.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural and Social Factors:<\/strong> Superstitions and cultural practices in rural areas delay timely medical intervention.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Constraints: <\/strong>High production costs limit accessibility for economically disadvantaged populations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Infrastructure and Logistical Issues:<\/strong> Cold storage requirements are unmet in rural areas due to insufficient power and infrastructure.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Improper storage degrades antivenom, reducing its effectiveness.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The<strong> National Action Plan for Prevention and Control of Snakebite Envenoming (NAP-SE)<\/strong> aims to prevent and manage snakebite envenoming, with the goal of reducing deaths and cases of disability by half by 2030.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Innovative Antivenom Development:<\/strong> Researchers are using recombinant DNA technology to develop synthetic antivenoms that are free from animal-derived proteins, ensuring greater safety and efficacy.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Diagnostic Advancements: <\/strong>Portable venom-detection kits and rapid diagnostic tools are being introduced to guide the effective use of antivenoms, ensuring timely and appropriate treatment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Role of the Irular Community<\/strong><br>&#8211; The Irular people are <strong>skilled snake-catchers<\/strong> and can safely extract venom from snakes in controlled environments.&nbsp;<br>&#8211; Their expertise ensures a steady supply of high-quality venom for antivenom production in India.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/sci-tech\/energy-and-environment\/why-are-antivenoms-not-easily-accessible-in-india\/article69123152.ece#:~:text=The%20high%20cost%20of%20manufacturi\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite being the largest producer and consumer of antivenoms, India accounts for almost 50% of global snakebite deaths.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35973","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35973","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35973"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35973\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35987,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35973\/revisions\/35987"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35973"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35973"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35973"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}