Snakebite causes 6,000 deaths annually
Health Minister Zahid Maleque yesterday said the government is working to make venom vaccine available at upazila level hospitals all over the country to reduce deaths from snakebite.
“We have undertaken an initiative to make the antivenom available at district level. But we will have to take this to upazila-level because snakebite is more frequent there,” he said at a seminar.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) and World Health Organization (WHO) Bangladesh jointly organised the seminar at InterContinental Dhaka.
Snakebite causes over 6,000 deaths and some 7,00,000 people get bitten by snakes annually in Bangladesh, said the minister, referring to statistics.
He said venom vaccines should be available at all hospitals so that patients can be treated efficiently.
Addressing as chief guest, he said snakes are entering rural households and posing threat to people’s lives because of habitat loss amid unabated destruction of bushes and forests.
“The way we are killing snakes, there will be no snakebite in near future. The animal will become extinct,” he said, adding that snake species are important for nature’s balance.
WHO Bangladesh Representative Bardan Jung Rana stressed updating statistics related to snakebite casualties in the country.
The available data is old. However, it is still alarming, he said.
Former DGHS director general Prof MA Faiz said snakebite is widely “neglected” in Bangladesh because of lack of knowledge among people.
Referring to the government’s target to reduce snakebite deaths by half within 2030, he said it is possible to achieve the goal by taking preventive measures, ensuring primary treatment of patients and providing them with the vaccine scientifically.
Health Services Division Secretary Ashadul Islam and DGHS Director General Abul Kalam Azad, spoke at the programme among others.
At the programme, the “National Guideline for Management of Snakebite 2019” was formally launched.
Comments