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Rattlesnake attacks prompt cry for
antivenin:[All But Toronto Edition] |
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Author(s): |
Odile
Nelson |
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Article
types: |
News |
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Section: |
News |
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Publication
title: |
National
Post. Don Mills, Ont.: Aug 13, 2002. pg. A.2 |
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Source
Type: |
Newspaper |
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ProQuest
document ID: |
244905401 |
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Text
Word Count |
615 |
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Article
URL: |
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Abstract (Article Summary) |
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The Georgian
Bay area has the highest concentration of Massasauga rattlers in Ontario.
Locals usually report only two to three snakebites annually. No clear answer
for the rise in snake bites has been given, but experts point to the
unusually hot, dry weather. Last summer
the company, Wyeth-Ayerst Canada, stopped manufacturing the antidote, forcing
the Ontario Ministry of Health to purchase a more expensive antivenin from
the United States. Shortly thereafter, the Ontario Ministry of Health
disbanded the provincial distribution system and passed on the purchase of
the American product to invididual hospitals. Dr. [Ola
Kassim] said some hospitals have refused to purchase Crofab and have instead
chosen to rely on the supplies of neighbouring hospitals. But this, he said,
creates a potentially dangerous situation when one area is hit by a rash of
incidents and those limited supplies are eliminated. |
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Full Text (615 words) |
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(Copyright National Post 2002) Six
rattlesnake attacks in Ontario's Cottage Country over the past two weeks has
led health officials to warn someone could die if adequate antivenin supplies
are not distributed. The Georgian
Bay area has the highest concentration of Massasauga rattlers in Ontario.
Locals usually report only two to three snakebites annually. No clear answer
for the rise in snake bites has been given, but experts point to the
unusually hot, dry weather. The Ontario
Ministry of Health used to run a province-wide anti- venin depot where the
provincial government purchased the expensive medication from a Canadian
company and then monitored its distribution to area hospitals on a
case-by-case basis. But last
summer the company, Wyeth-Ayerst Canada, stopped manufacturing the antidote,
forcing the Ontario Ministry of Health to purchase a more expensive antivenin
from the United States. Shortly thereafter, the Ontario Ministry of Health
disbanded the provincial distribution system and passed on the purchase of
the American product to invididual hospitals. "I don't
think they [government officials] understand the urgency of the situation.
Yes, snake bites are rare but we've already had six this year.... It's only
when somebody dies that something will be done," Dr. Ola Kassim,
director of laboratory services and pathology at the West Parry Sound Health Centre,
said yesterday. The new
antivenin, Crofab, costs US$1,800 for two vials; the typical treatment
requires 10 vials. Dr. Kassim
said some hospitals have refused to purchase Crofab and have instead chosen
to rely on the supplies of neighbouring hospitals. But this, he said, creates
a potentially dangerous situation when one area is hit by a rash of incidents
and those limited supplies are eliminated. "You have
to plan for worst-case scenario. There has to be in the system enough
antivenin so if one hospital has an unusual amount of cases, we all send our
anti-venin to help out," he said. Though the
Massasauga rattler injects venom into its victims only 60% of the time, when
it does, the effect can be fatal if not immediately treated. The venom thins
a victim's blood, preventing the blood from clotting and causing a patient to
bleed to death internally. Dr. Kassim
said without a central organization monitoring the distribution of the
antidote, hospitals lacking supplies do not know who to contact in an
emergency. Janice Hardy,
spokeswoman for the South Muskoka Municipal Hospital, said the new system has
made it difficult for hospitals like her own, which has had only three
life-threatening snake bite cases in 15 years, to justify purchasing an
expensive drug that may not be used before its expiry date. Though her
hospital hopes to eventually purchase its own anti- venin supply, its efforts
are also frustrated because its American manufacturer is unable to meet the
demand. The South Muskoka Hospital will likely acquire the antivenin this
October. "In the
meantime, we would have no choice but to ask other hospitals to send us some
of their own limited supply or we would have to send our patient there,"
Ms. Hardy says. But Georgian
Bay biologists say area residents have little to worry about if they educate
themselves about the Massasauga rattler. Ron Black, a
wildlife biologist with the Parry Sound office of the Ministry of Natural
Resources, said the two- to three-feet long snake is typically shy and does
its best to avoid predators. The snake,
which has a black belly and grey body with dark reddish-brown blotches on its
back, generally rattles a warning if people get too close and only attacks
when it feels threatened. "If
people learn what they can about the species and use a reasonable level of
common sense and caution there's no reason to fear them," Mr. Black
said. |