By CLIFFORD FAIPARIK
HOSPITALS throughout the country are now out of anti-venom drugs for snake bite patients, PNG Snakebite Research Project officer David Williams said yesterday.
“And the Port Moresby General hospital (PMGH) would be affected because it might be seeing about 120 victims daily between December and April. “This period is the snake bite period due to the rainy season and about 96 (80%) of them might die due to shortages of these drugs.”
However, PNG Medical Board chairman Igo Baru denied having no antidotes as there were 100 polyvalent drugs now in stock to be distributed to hospitals throughout the country to treat snake bite patients.
Mr Paru also could not comment further and referred The National to the Health Secretary Dr Clement Malau.
Dr Malau was unavailable and according to his secretary he was in a meeting with a member of a donor agency.
Meanwhile, Mr Williams said the PMGH was the main hospital that received snake bite patients because it was in the Southern region .
This region is common for snake bites because of its savannah and rainforest vegetations.
“We are now working on a joint University of PNG /University of Melbourne project to produce cheaper drugs to fully stock the hospitals,” he said.
“Currently a drug cost K4,500 for one and on average the Health Department orders about 300 of these drugs annually.
“We are hopeful that after years of working on the project we will be able to produce drugs that would cost about K500 each.
“Currently the polyvalent drugs are being ordered . . . it is commonly used to treat all types of snake bites. But sometimes it causes discomfort to patients because it reacts to certain species of snakes.
“And for this project, we are concentrating on making drugs for the Papuan Taipan because 90% of snake bites patients are victims of these snakes.
“After that we will look into other snakes.”
Mr Williams said they had just arrived from Milne Bay province with 20 Papuan Taipans.