HAS WILD LIFE GONE BONKERS?
By Dr. Tilak S. Fernando
Picture credit: Google.
Is it
Kuveni's centuries-old curse still affecting our nation that it makes
impossible to get the simplest form of a job done out of a Government office?
Lassitude is different from that of inefficiency, but if politically placed
square pegs in round holes are up to monkey pranks, it becomes a travesty, and
begins to drive the nation in reverse gear on roller coasters.
The
following is a self-explanatory example of how the wildlife in Sri Lanka has
been playing games with an international institution, despite the President and
Prime Minister approving of a project, which could save life and bring millions
of foreign exchange into the country.
AVRI and University of Peradeniya
Medical School
Animal
Venom Research International (AVRI) is an organization with the
vision of alleviating human suffering caused by the bites of venomous animals
by developing safe and effective anti -venoms. Statistics reveal over 100,000
deaths occur annually due to snakebites, and more than 400,000 people having to
amputate their limbs or "rendered
useless", after being bitten by cobras, vipers and other venomous
snakes, suffer debilitating injuries throughout the world.
Sri Lanka
records one of the highest per capita envenomation rates due to snakebites, with
105 species, and a recorded number of 80,000 people bitten by snakes in 2010
alone has made Sri Lanka a nation of special concern. Currently, Sri Lanka
depends on large doses of imported anti-venom of impure quality causing adverse
reactions in patients. Sri Lanka Government spends approx. US$1 million on
anti-venoms, with hospital costs exceeding US$10 million per annum.
National Survey
As
epidemiological data on snakebite statistics available in hospitals are
limited, a national survey led by Dileepa Senajith Ediriweera and his team of
experts had researched in nine provinces of Sri Lanka to arrive at meaningful
statistics. Snakebite is a neglected tropical disease. "The doctors treating snakebite and
envenoming in Sri Lanka require a low reactogenic, cheap, and an effective
polyvalent anti-venom serum. Until such time, the currently available imported
anti-venom from India has to be used". (The Medical Journal of Ceylon
2002).
In the
wake of such a dilemma, the President and the Minister of Health invited AVRI
to Sri Lanka and gave the go-ahead to develop species-specific anti-venom
by setting up of a manufacturing plant. The Anti-venom imported from India is
of poor quality and the reaction rate has been in the region of 70-80%, due to
pyrogens in the vials.
The
Economic Management Committee of Sri Lanka authorized the new project in 2006
to produce polyspecific anti-venom
for Sri Lanka. AVRI collaborated with the Medical School, Peradeniya, and
funded the project. In the meantime, the Ministry of Health, BOI Sri Lanka and
the Officials in the Committee of the Economic Management approved the project
on 20 January 2017, at the Prime Minister's Office, which instructed the
Director, Department of Wild Life, Sri Lanka, to provide the necessary
approvals etc.
Kick-Start
With such
a kick-start, the primary large-scale learning facility for venom research in
Sri Lanka was established by AVRI, along with the University of Peradeniya and
a team of skilled veterinarians from the USA, who trained Sri Lankans to
handle, treat and extract venom from snakes, without killing a single snake,
and educating the locals that snakes too are part of the eco system, and their
bites are treatable with the locally-produced 'species specific'
anti-venom.
According
to estimates, people kill over 1,000 snakes every week. Prof. Sarath Kotagama,
a former Director General of wildlife, once had questioned the Department of
Wildlife whether the DWC is committed towards prevention of people killing
snakes, and also are they blind to the prevailing social and economic costs to
the Nation resulting from snakebites. He further stressed that “we must save
people and snakes.”
Ignorance at the DWC
Laki
Wickremesinghe, Chairman (AVRI Sri Lanka) states that "the level of ignorance of the Officials in
the Department of Wildlife is unbelievable, and they treat University
Professors from the Medical Faculty and the Vice Chancellor, like
schoolchildren". One is hesitant to conclude whether the officials are
corrupt and are acceding to the wishes of the masters in India!
Despite
such frustrating hiccups, the project is worthy in any part of the world where
a problem with venomous snakes exists, and the study of technical aspects of
venom is warranted. In this regard, one must blame Wildlife official's callous
disregard towards the victims of snakebite. At no stage they (DWC) have
enquired from Prof. Gawarammana how the DWC could help. The Minister of
Wildlife has full authority, under the Wildlife Act, to remedy any situation,
and not heel with the ignorance of the Department but to permit collection of
the deadly snake species
Sri
Lankan-born Herpetologist and the US-based Executive Director of AVRI, Roy
Malleappah, and his team have produced the latest (Sri Lankan) anti-venom (ICP-AVRI),
which is poly-specific, against the most common type of venomous Sri Lankan
snake, the hump-nosed pit viper for the first time in the world. So far, the
Instituto Clodomiro Picado (ICP) in Costa Rica has developed anti-venom, and with
the latest invention of Freeze-dried EchiTAb+ICP- Avri Sri Lanka, which has a
neutralizing effective rate of 3.50 (2.54-6.50) on Hypnale, in comparison with
anti-venom currently used in Sri Lanka (VINS), with only 0.58 (0.26-0.86).
Frustrations
One could
imagine the amount of frustration AVRI must have endured, for thirteen long
years, facing hindrances and disappointments, even after the project initiated
in 2006, it has been hampered by the cussed attitudes of top
officials in the Wildlife, either due to their inefficiency or simply because
of the fact that few palms have been "oiled" by the Indian exporters!
On 5
February 2017, Director, AVRI wrote to the Director General DWC, referring to
his earlier correspondence pointing out serious factual errors in his letter,
and the fact that "People were dying in Sri Lanka without a
species-specific anti-venom, and emphasizing that the Indian anti-venom is not
effective according to many medical experts who treat snake envenomed patients.
Stressing further, he added that Sri Lanka Agents of the Indian Manufacturer
were attempting to export venom in large quantities to India, the same agents
who "facilitate the import of poor
quality and ineffective anti-venom, which has been going on for over 65
years."
Disappointed Professor
On 20
December 2017, Prof. Indika Gawarammana wrote to the Chairman National Research
Council, regarding the on-going difficulties with regard to the Anti-venom
Project, highlighting the facts. He appears to be more perturbed by the fact
that all his genuine efforts are taken as if he was expecting a personal favour
from DWC, and the worse being that he was made to believe such a situation as
the lowest, an academic is made to feel. What the Professor needed was
permission to export a small quantity of venom of Bungarus Caerulevs to Costa
Rica to incorporate into the Polyvalent anti-venom, which they have already
produced, and to seek the clearance for a list of volunteers to collect snakes.
All such
dilly-dallying has made AVRI to postpone the importation of horses (used for
anti-venom production) after purchasing lands in Matale and in Peradeniya for
this purpose. The National Research Council has also invested a large sum of
public money in the development of these anti-venoms.
Wickremesinghe
referring to 'negative criticism of investing
in Sri Lanka' by Bloomberg Group
reiterated that 'Lankan Professionals,
need to hold Sri Lankan State Institutions to higher standards, which they are
capable of, to respond to the negative perception in the world that Sri Lanka
is at the very bottom of investment tables". Victims and their
relatives might find solutions as the "SAITM" style.
"It always seems
impossible until it's done." – Nelson Mandela
tilakfernando@gmail.com