The High Court on Monday asked the secretary of health ministry, director general of the directorate general of drug administration and authorities concerned to supply adequate antivenom in all Upazila Health Complexes across the country as soon as possible for snake bite patients.
The HC bench of justices Fahmida Quader and Sayed Jahed Mansur passed the order after hearing a writ petition and asked the authorities to submit the progress report within two months.
Advocate AKM Nurun Nabi Ujjal stood for the petitioner while deputy attorney general Shafiqur Rahman represented the state.
Ujjal said that news about people dying from snake bites in various upazilas of the country was frequently reported in the media and it was observed that the injured patients were dying due to the lack of sufficient snake bite medicine, antivenom, in the upazila hospitals.
He filed a writ petition after attaching the media reports seeking supply of adequate antivenom in all upazila health complexes across the country.
According to the survey of the newspaper report, at least 38 people died while 610 were injured from snake bites from February to July 1, this year, across the country.
The Directorate General of Health Services revealed the information at a press briefing held over the public awareness about Russell鈥檚 viper.
Citing the national survey, Professor Robed Amin, said that over 4 lakh people were injured while 7,500 people died from snake bite till 2022.
Despite the insufficient information regarding snakes, the main venomous snakes include the cobra, crate or black krait, the Russell鈥檚 viper and the green snake. There are also reports of bites from some sea snakes.
Professor Robed said that the recognised treatment for venomous snake bites was antivenom.
The venom of the country鈥檚 main venomous snakes is collected and administered to horses, from which antivenom is created through various processes using the horse鈥檚 blood serum.
Currently, antivenom is not produced in Bangladesh.
Antivenom prepared in India, for four main venomous snakes, is collected and supplied to various government hospitals by the non-communicable disease programme. Despite the lack of a specific programme for the purchase, distribution, storage, use and post-use effect, monitoring, of antivenom, the positive effects of its application are noticeable.
