NHLS assures health department there is no shortage of antivenom

06 April 2023 - 17:10
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An open letter has been signed by 27 experts in snakebite treatment calling on health minister Dr Joe Phaala to intervene in an antivenom shortage. File photo.
An open letter has been signed by 27 experts in snakebite treatment calling on health minister Dr Joe Phaala to intervene in an antivenom shortage. File photo.
Image: Theo Jeptha

The health department says it has been assured by the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS) that there is no shortage of antivenom and manufacturing and deliveries to health facilities are continuing.

This comes after medical and trauma practitioners called for the intervention of health minister Dr Joe Phaahla to alleviate a critical shortage of antivenom.

An open letter has been signed by 27 experts in snakebite treatment, including medical and trauma practitioners and antivenom and snake handling experts.

Phaala's spokesperson Doctor Tshwale confirmed they are aware the call by the practitioners and said the department had asked the NHLS, as its entity responsible for manufacturing snakebite antivenom, about the concerns raised.

“The NHLS has assured the department there is no shortage and the manufacturing and delivery of antivenom to [health] facilities is continuing,” he said.

The advisory group's appeal is for the health minister's intervention for funding and approving emergency upgrades to allow improved functionality at the Johannesburg-based South African Vaccine Producers (SAVP) production plant.

The signatories also asked Phaahla to ensure procurement processes are effectively and compliantly performed so appropriate equipment, backup generators, reagents and other essential production items can be procured to improve production that will ensure a sufficient volume of antivenom to restock the country.

According to the group, certain public and private hospitals — many of which are situated in high snakebite areas — have already run out of stock, while others have preciously little antivenom on hand.

The NHLS said snakebite antivenom is available and more doses are being manufactured.

“We have scaled up our snakebite antivenom production and have been dispatching units since December 2022. We continue to distribute this much-needed and life-saving medicine throughout the country. Between December 1 and March 31 we distributed 1,422 doses throughout the country and still have doses in the production phase,” it said.

We recognise and appreciate the public's concern about the snakebite antivenom shortage, but we urge South Africans not to panic
National Health Laboratory Service

The NHLS said they have distributed 1,077 snakebite antivenom doses as of Monday and maintain a limited number of doses for emergencies.

However, the continuous switchover to generators during load-shedding interrupts production which affects productivity and maintaining a stockpile.

“Within a month, we would have significantly reduced the backlog and after two months we would be back to normal production rates. The NHLS management is monitoring and working on emergency measures, as well as developing solutions to overcome bottlenecks caused by energy disruptions. Despite some successes, ongoing power outages continue to have a significant impact on our production,” it said.

We recognise and appreciate the public's concern about the snakebite antivenom shortage, but we urge South Africans not to panic. We are working hard to make this life-saving treatment for snake bites available to everyone, including animals, regardless of location. The NHLS management is taking this matter seriously and is working hard to resolve it.”

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