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Why More People In Africa Will Soon Die Of Treatable Snake Bites

Why More People In Africa Will Soon Die Of Treatable Snake Bites

From VOA News

It sounds like a tale of corporate greed: A particularly effective African anti-venom soon will be completely unavailable because its manufacturer decided it was not profitable.

Remaining stocks of the drug expire at the end of June.

The situation has prompted aid groups like Doctors Without Borders to sound the alarm over the imminent shortage of Fav-Afrique, which treats bites from 10 types of snakes.

“We are upset about the decision of Sanofi Pasteur to stop Fav-Afrique because we need the anti-venom,” said Dr. Monica Rull, a health advisor for Doctors Without Borders. “We need an anti-venom that is polyvalent and it’s easy to use, not thinking too much about which type of snake has bitten the patient.”

The aid group estimates that 30,000 Africans die of snakebites each year.

‘Polyvalent’ anti-venoms

Rull said there are other anti-venoms available in Africa, but none are as effective as Fav-Afrique, and few are polyvalent — meaning they can treat multiple poisons. That matters because patients often can’t accurately identify the species of snake that attacked them.

But the sad story of the demise of Fav-Afrique is a complicated one, says Dr. Jean Lang of pharmaceutical company, who contends governments and donors are equally responsible for this poisonous situation.

Lang was part of the team that developed Fav-Afrique two decades ago. He spoke to VOA from Sanofi Pasteur’s facility in Lyon, France.

Read more at VOA News