Of recent, cases of snake bite in the northern parts of the country seem to be on the increase. What is more worrisome is that despite the severity of the problem, relevant authorities do not appear to be doing enough to put a tab on what can be described as a national crisis.
This is not too surprising. There is a general pattern that the nation usually takes when it comes to tackling serious issues. We take things with levity until they become so severe, devastating and chaotic such that any meaningful intervention may not be helpful by the time they are applied. It is on this premise that the prevalent cases of snake bites should be given due priority and attention without further delay. More than 80 victims alone were said to have died in the last few weeks following the absence of anti-venom for victims from northern states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Plateau States and Taraba.
Statistics of snake bites obtained across the country revealed that there is a steady rise, on a daily basis, of people either suffering from the attacks or have outrightly died due to poor access to medical facilities. Alternatively, most of these victims – because of the expensive cost of orthodox medicine – ended up visiting herbalists because they could not afford the anti-snake venom, which costs an average of about N28,000 per vial.
To show the severity of the problem, a World Health Organisation (WHO) report shows that Nigeria records 174 snakebites per 100,000 population per annum year, of which the carpet viper or saw-scaled has been blamed for about 90 per cent of bites, out of which 60 per cent eventually result into deaths.
WHO, however, warns that snakebite is a neglected public health problem for most of African countries including Nigeria. That is where the country needs to work hard by ensuring that the necessary mechanism is put in place to overcome this challenge because nothing meaningful can be achieved where record keeping has become a perpetual feature of our national life.
Despite this worrisome trend, many of these snakebite cases go unreported and are not captured in official epidemiological records kept by appropriate bodies. This lack of important documentation is not limited to health records, as many other important and reliable statistics on all areas of human lives are usually very difficult to obtain in Nigeria. Th is, not only makes national planning a difficult task, it further lend credence to the fact that we lack the habit of keeping vital information.
Not only do we not hear much of advocacy on the hazards of snake bites, many health workers in the country have little or no formal training in the management of snakebites. With the current realities on ground, there is the need for the beaming of searchlight on this area. Rural populations that are more prone to frequent victims are not well protected while they go about their daily farming activities with palpable fear.
Th is orientation should change. Snakes attack people when they are threatened, picked up mistakenly or trodden on. Such attacks can be deadly if not treated quickly but if properly treated, many snake bites would not have serious implications on victims, as less than 10 per cent of snake bite victims attend hospitals in Nigeria. According to medical personnel, snake treatment and management are very expensive, putting the average cost of treating one case at N62,000, making it expensive for many victims to afford. What do we have at the end of the day? It is a combination of misery, agony and untimely death.
To move forward, there is the need for wide public enlightenment among rural communities on how to prevent snake bites and what to do as first aid when someone is attacked. Such information should be made available in the languages the local farmers are familiar with. Furthermore, more medical personnel should be trained on how to effectively manage cases of snakebite before they become too late, especially during emergencies. This would reduce deaths associated with inadequate handling.
The snake anti-venom drugs, namely: Echitab Plus ICP polyvalent and Echitab G monovalent, which are said to have last been supplied to the country, several months ago, should be imported with immediate effect. This would reduce scarcity and the tendency for people to tamper with the supply of the drugs. Already, some people are said to be faking the drugs and selling at almost N45,000 per vial, contrary to the original anti-snake venom sold by the study group ranging from between N13,500 to N30,000.
Collaborative efforts should be geared toward manufacturing the drugs through PublicPrivate-Partnership (PPP), to increase access. The government should painstakingly identify serious organisations with requisite experience that could come in at this critical moment. Th e eff ort of Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue through the procurement of N31m worth of the drugs, is commendable. More states should follow suit in helping to curb the snake bite problem. The Federal Government should swiftly treat snake bite as a national emergency, to truly curb this menace.
