PHA-Exchange> WHO PLANS TO BOOST TREATMENT FOR RABIES, SNAKE BITES IN DEVELOPING WORLD

[Claudio]

From: "Vern Weitzel" <vern at coombs.anu.edu.au>
From: UNNews at un.org

UN HEALTH AGENCY PLANS TO BOOST TREATMENT FOR RABIES, SNAKE BITES IN 
DEVELOPING WORLD
New York, Jan  9 2007 11:00AM
With more than 12 million people suffering dog or snake bites and scorpion 
stings each year, the
United Nations health agency today announced plans to boost the production 
of crucial therapeutic
sera which can make the difference between life and death or crippling 
disability for millions of
people in poor countries.


“We need to boost local manufacturers’ capacity and improve the delivery of 
products to remote rural
areas,” UN World Health Organization
(<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/notes/2007/np01/en/index.html">WHO) 
Assistant
Director-General for Health Technologies and Pharmaceuticals Howard Zucker 
said ahead of a meeting
tomorrow at the agency’s headquarters in Geneva of the top experts in the 
area as well as recipient
and donor countries, international organizations and manufacturers.


“There are effective solutions that could save millions of lives,” he added, 
noting that
<"http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs099/en/index.html">rabies from 
dog bites, the tenth
most common cause of death due to infections in humans, is 100 per cent 
fatal but 100 per cent
preventable when post-exposure treatment using therapeutic
<"http://www.who.int/bloodproducts/animal_sera/en/index.html">sera is 
readily available.


It is estimated that there are 1 million snake bites each year in Africa 
alone resulting in over
20,000 deaths and a much higher incidence of chronic disability and physical 
handicap from necrotic
effects requiring amputation.


To address this neglected public health issue, WHO is creating a five-year, 
$10-million plan to
boost production in developing countries, including through technology 
transfers, helping
authorities forecast market needs and strengthening regulatory capacity.


Production of therapeutic sera, a pharmaceutical preparation containing 
antibodies against one or
more specific antigens, is dropping in industrialized countries due to 
inadequate profitability,
linked to uncertainty about the quantities needed. In developing countries, 
affordability is an
issue, and production is also quantitatively limited and often does not 
reach the quality standard
required to make these treatments.


An estimated 8 million people need anti-rabies serum each year after being 
exposed to animals
suspected of carrying the disease. Almost half of those requiring the 
therapeutic sera and those
dying of rabies are children less than 15 years old. More than 99 per cent 
of all human deaths from
rabies occur in Africa and Asia.


Close to 5 million snake bites and scorpion stings are recorded each year, 
mostly in Africa, Asia
and Latin America, 50 to 75 per cent of which need treatment with 
therapeutic sera to prevent death,
amputation or severe neurological disorders. The main populations affected 
are young agricultural
workers and children.


Available epidemiological data on the incidence of snake bites, including 
the degree of associated
mortality and long-term morbidity are largely hospital-based and therefore 
underestimate the true
scale of the problem. A majority of snake-bite victims seek traditional 
treatment and may die at
home unrecorded.


Over 10 million vials of anti-venom sera would be needed to treat snake and 
scorpion bites
worldwide, with an estimated 2 million vials required for Africa alone. An 
estimated 16 million
vials of anti-rabies serum would be needed each year if current 
international guidelines for
post-exposure prophylaxis were to be fully implemented.